


Revolution

by Penny32



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2020-07-09 16:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19890622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penny32/pseuds/Penny32
Summary: Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality. – Emily Dickinson*Back by popular demand*





	1. Chapter 1

AN: I do not own Inuyasha. Cheers!

Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality. – Emily Dickinson 

I-

Kagome’s eyes widened as a large hand faintly smelling of autumn leaves wrapped itself around her mouth. “Quiet, miko. Or I will shout loud enough for the hanyou’s guards to come and find out who dares to disturb his rest.” The voice was low, an angry rumble that made her quiver like a trapped deer with sudden, instinctive fear. She hadn’t heard him in a long, long time- not since his last battle with their group, not since their victory over the dark hanyou seeking the Jewel of Four Souls.  


Controlling the fear locking her limbs was a small feat, but a heartbeat later she was able to nod, hoping against hope that he had come to take her away from the Western Citadel. She almost squeaked when a hard arm came around her stomach, tightening her abdomen bare seconds before he pushed off the ground and ran from the cultivated gardens and into the night-dark forest as silently as the wind. She stayed quiet as he carried them farther and farther away from the Citadel- from her wish and the consequences she had inflicted on herself and the Western Lands.  


After about half an hour, he launched into the air, a cream-colored cloud forming at his feet to carry them through the air. He put her down once they were airborne- once she had nowhere to run, and turned to look back at the moonlit palace in the distance. Her gaze followed his movement and for a moment, she caught her breath at its beauty the way she had when she had first seen it. Her eyes roved over the glimmering turrets, the high walls laced with flowering vines of jasmine. The lotus-dotted river gleamed in the lantern lights of the sprawling city surrounding the palace. A small strip of green valley separated the city’s inhabitants from the forest. It looked ethereal and serene, a dream wrought into reality.  


She looked away a second before he did, carefully ignoring the burn in her throat and at the corners of her eyes.  


She didn't deserve to shed anymore tears. 

They were both careful to watch the landscape beneath them as they flew in silence towards a far corner of the Western Lands, searching for any sign her absence had been discovered and they were being chased. Eventually, they landed by a hot spring. He turned away from her the second she stepped off the cloud. “Wash. His scent on you can be followed.”  


So saying, he leapt into the shadows, presumably to dispose of any scouts that may have been sent to track them. While difficult to do, their scent could still be followed in the air by those knowledgeable and skilled enough.  


After a long moment of staring at the dark, empty undergrowth before her, Kagome hurriedly undressed. She sent out a small flare of her powers to see if any dangers lurked close by. Sensing nothing more than a family of red pandas, she set her clothes to soak and scrubbed herself with handfuls of sand gathered from the bottom of the pool. Before she washed her hair, she hung her clothes up to dry, internally grimacing at the beautiful but plain blue, youkai-crafted cotton. It had been a gift from the woman she had once thought would be her mother-in-law, a woman she had come to hate for her pettiness and cruelty.  


Another small flare of her aura brought no sense of danger and she returned to getting the Prince's scent off her skin. She sighed as she scrubbed, ignoring the coil of rage deep inside of her whipping at the thought of the twisted creatures in the Jewel of Four Souls. To think she had spent four years completing that cursed, pink bauble only to have her wish-her heart's purest desire, corrupted beyond her wildest imagining. She huffed and closed her eyes, tying up her anger and burying it beneath her guilt for making such an unworthy wish. Only an unworthy wish could have resulted in such a disastrous outcome. 

Only an unworthy miko would have paid the price for such an unworthy wish.

She shook her head and refocused her thoughts, climbing out of the pool and wiping her skin off with a bit of dry moss she was able to find. She quickly put on her damp clothes after she was relatively dry. Unfortunately, her mind kept wandering and she ended up reminiscing on the last time she had been allowed to come to a hot spring.  


Kagome made a face as she smoothed out the folds of cotton tied around her body, lost in the memory. She hadn’t enjoyed the visit at all, her heart numbed to the pain of watching Inuyasha fawn over Kikyou like a boy with his first crush. And his mother… Izayoi had done nothing but make sure Kagome watched them. Kagome sighed silently and pushed the unpleasant memory away. It wasn't the worst thing they had done to her... not by a long shot.  


Turning to face the north, she flared her aura as she tied her obi as skillfully as she could without a servant to aid her. The simplest of folds hid her curves beneath the three layers of cotton. Each layer brought out a different shade of the oceanic blue of her eyes, emphasized the creamy paleness of her skin, and the dark contrast of her hair. Despite the lack of silk and embroidery that would identify her as a member of the royal household, Kagome looked lovely enough to be nobility. Perhaps that was one of the reasons for Kikyou’s vindictiveness. Still, she could only find herself grateful that her hateful incarnation had kept the palace clothier from stitching the Western symbol on her gifted kimono. It would be easier to remain unidentified without the crescent moon etched between her shoulder blades.  


Unable to sense her captor nearby, she knelt by the hot spring, automatically smoothing the crinkles in her kimono with a graceful hand- as drilled into her by the Etiquette Mistress. The ebony-haired young woman watched the steam rise into the darkness of the night, only startling when a small, furry head nosed its way under her hand. “Hello, little one. Couldn’t sleep?”  


The red panda cub yipped at her, curling up in her lap and yawning as she scratched its back. Its large, honey-brown eyes drooped beneath heavy eyelids as she continued her ministrations and soon the little creature was asleep. For her part, Kagome remained lost in thought, watching as dew began to form on the leaves around her, waiting for her kidnapper to return.  


She wondered what he wanted with her.

“Miko.” His voice made her startle. His return had been sudden and silent. “Rise. We must leave this place now. The hanyou has noticed your absence.”  


She picked up the red panda cub and placed it beneath a small frond for protection before rising to her feet. She did not use her powers to place a barrier around the small creature, in case her aura was recognized.  


“I don’t still smell like him, do I?” She met his eyes for the first time since he had taken her and barely kept from flinching.  
There was rage in his gaze, a fine, razor-sharp rage that threatened to burn down everything in his path the second he unleashed himself. “No. Come.”  


He took her elbow and gave her seconds to step onto the cloud before speeding away over the Western border and into the Northern Territories. He still did not speak and so she remained silent as well. He slowed as they reached the coastal edge of the Northern Lands, circling around the curve of a small, craggy island before swooping down towards a nigh-invisible crevasse rampaged by fierce, crashing waves. He waited until the waves had receded and then zipped into the cave, ignoring her gasp and the small hand grasping at his armor.  


He put her down quickly, waited until she could stand on her own, and then turned and walked deeper into the darkness. With a careless thought, he lit the torches for her with a touch of magic. It would not do for her to injure herself in the darkness. If she was injured, it would be months before he could find another miko as powerful as she, maybe even years. Maybe never.  


She followed slowly as he stalked ahead, not wanting to get to their destination and receive the tension apparent in every line of his body. When he finally stopped, she had to hold in her gasp as she looked around and up. The circular cavern he had lead her to was massive. Shaped like a large, hollow column, the cavern was easily able to hold many inu youkai in their true forms. Ornate rugs, low tables, and pillows were piled over the cold floor in elegant disarray; tapestries and bookshelves covered the walls alongside maps and portraits of what she assumed were members of the nobility. Staircases curved up like snakes along the walls to open onto a balcony that circled the whole room, framing small alcoves with burning fires and lighted crystals. She could barely make out more caverns and tunnels branching away from the alcoves and suspected a veritable labryinth around the centerpoint of this cavern.  


“You will tell me exactly what you said in your foolish wish, miko.” His voice was freezing, coated with the ice holding back the flames of his fury. His golden eyes blazed at her, murdering her where she stood and his long, silver hair moved in an invisible wind around his body. She could feel the threadbare constraints leashing his power to his form and knew he was close to killing her, regardless of any potential use he had brought her here for.  


“I wished for Inuyasha’s happiness.” Her words fell into the echos of the cavern and she knelt, head bowing as she heard his vicious growl at the Prince's name. She fought against the tears she had refused to shed in the Western Palace. “I had no idea that his happiness would entail such horror for so many people. I’m sorry.... So, _so_ sorry."  


He snarled, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. His voice rang out in the firelit shadows of the cavern. “Did you even think before you spoke your wish, miko? Did you learn your history? My father, the Great Dog Demon General, was a bloodthirsty, sadistic male with little to no regard for the people he ruled. Bringing him back from the dead was one of the worst acts of idiocy ever committed in the West. His youngest son, now his _heir,_ is just as selfish and cruel as he is. Did you imagine that Inuyasha's sociopathic tendencies would not manifest in the wish you made? You- who followed him like a fool, did you even _know_ the idiot you used the power of that wish for?" 

He paused, reigning himself in lest he throw her from the cavern into the raging seas just outside. She had been the most powerful one in that ragtag group and he needed someone of her caliber. Killing her was less than useful. After a moment, he continued. " _No one_ but Inuyasha and Izayoi were ever happy under the Inu no Taisho’s rule, and you gave all three of them the power they had once held... just as the land was beginning to heal and grow despite their callous use of it so many years ago. Do you think that city was there the day my father died? Do you think the title of Western Lord was coveted the day it was bequeathed to me?”  


He whipped away from the scent of her fearful tears, refusing to acknowledge the innocence of her wish. “You took from me my lands and my people, threw both to the hands of an uncouth barbarian. You took from me the daughter whom I cared for and the only pack besides my mother I had ever acknowledged. You took from me my title and my birthright. You are a fool, miko. An ignorant, cursed _fool._ ”  


Kagome was too guilt-ridden to be shocked at his anger, the loss of his famed control. She bowed her head beneath the weight of the past years.  


“And for that,” he said quietly, controlling his fury and waiting until she looked up at him, “you will assist me in taking back what is _mine_.”  


His golden eyes held a strength of conviction and possessiveness that shook her. His stance was straight, calm, able- loose with an aura of accepted responsibility that demanded respect. Her eyes dried as she flicked her gaze over him.  


He was nothing compared to Inuyasha’s father, the current Lord of the Western lands. His aura was almost non-existent in comparison with the Inu no Taisho’s aura and yet… she sat back on her heels. He was _more_.  


There was more than cunning in those golden eyes, there was intelligence and compassion. He could have easily taken revenge and killed her for her role in his dethroning. He could have forced her into slavery or servitude. Instead, he had saved her- though he knew it not. She knew, without a doubt, that she would never be forced to show this man respect. He would earn it, would not merely demand it.  


Considering how his current position was entirely her fault, the least she could do was help him. She bowed to him, forehead touching the floor, fingertips pointed carefully. “What would you have of me, Lord Sesshoumaru?”  


He reclined on a set of cushions in front of one of the many fireplaces around the cavern, muscles still stiff with anger. “Make yourself comfortable, miko. We have much to discuss.”


	2. Chapter 2

_Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,_  
_Tears from the depths of some divine despair_  
_Rise from the heart, and gather to the eyes,_  
_In looking on the happy autumn-fields,_  
_And thinking of the days that are no more…_  
_-Tennyson, “The Princess”_

II- 

____

“My people,” he began, “have not yet remembered the pain of being under the rule of my father and it will be years before they realize the detrimental effects of his true nature.” 

____

The miko shifted, easing some of the pressure on her knees. He watched as her loose, silken hair fell over her shoulder. He seemed to be waiting for her to respond and wondered again what purpose he wanted her to serve. Perhaps he wanted information on his father? “He has almost doubled taxes on the people. I would imagine they are not happy with this.” 

____

Sesshoumaru ignored the breach of protocol when she spoke. Despite her ridiculously stupid wish, she had been the most intelligent member of the hanyou’s group. “They are still affluent and despite the increased taxes, will not be harmed by such losses. The past three decades have yielded bountiful harvests. Coffers are full. The weather is fair and will remain so for some time. The land is healthy as the solstice and lunar rituals have been completed every year of my reign. Silk and jewels are being imported at a large rate in response to demand. Western crafts and goods are being sold over seas and over borders at increasing prices. The people of the West remain comfortable for now.” 

____

The dark haired miko stayed silent for a moment and then, throwing caution to the wind, chose to share the truth of her opinion. After all, he could have easily killed her and had yet to do so. “He wants to increase the territory of the West. While publicly, those taxes are being utilized as a commission for statues in his honor, they are actually being used to expand upon the current military forces. The taxes will only continue to rise and those increases will come quickly.” Kagome almost fidgeted when he pinned her with his gaze but after having been in the daily presence of the Inu no Taisho, she was able to ignore her nervousness. 

____

She must have passed some unknown test of his because he looked towards the fire seconds later, choosing to respond to her impertinent response. “The Inu no Taisho is a crafty youkai. He has decades with which to achieve those aims in a manner which does not cause a revolt.” 

____

She shook her head, once. “He is a bloodthirsty, ambitious male who wants to start an invasion within the next two years. He seeks to control all the Isles.” 

____

She saw him blink, saw his jaw clench, his claws twitch. It may have been a trick of the fire light but she thought she saw the crescent on his forehead glow. Were the stories about his mother's divine upbringing true? She knew he was powerful but she did not know if he was powerful enough to overcome his father. “That is far more ambitious than his previous life's inclininations. I did not know he had set his sights on all the lands. We are not prepared for such an undertaking." 

____

Now it was her turn to blink. Surprised, she answered without thinking. “How could you be prepared? The only ones who know of this are his generals and personal household.” 

____

Sesshoumaru watched her, golden eyes blank, obviously thinking. “He has not told the army commanders yet? The nobles?” 

____

She shook her head, no. He had closed his emotions down once more- reminding her of the Sesshoumaru she had once known across a battlefield. The reversal was both comforting and disconcerting. “He is not very forthcoming but I think the only reason he isn't pushing for an even quicker timeline is because the army could not possibly be ready before the winter season sets in and... he does not want to give the nobility the chance to disapprove of his actions.” 

____

Sesshoumaru pressed his lips together. “He might push the timeline anyways. He did that once, lost more than half his men to the winter storms before conceding to wait for the spring thaw. Many of the nobility would not wish to partake of such an ambitious move. They were well content under my rule.” His gaze fell to the flames in the grate, mind turning inward. He murmured under his breath. "It is truly no wonder my father hates me." 

____

She watched his eyes glaze over as he was momentarily lost in memories. “You believe the Inu no Taisho hates you?” 

____

The look he gave her was eloquent and she blushed at the stupidity of her question. The Inu no Taisho would not have named Inuyasha his heir if he had cared for his elder, full-blooded son. 

Sesshoumaru took pity on her when the silence became awkward. He watched her blue eyes fall to the floor, saw her curl in on herself and scented fear rising off her skin once more. He hated the scent of fear... particularly from females. “He hates me because I am my mother’s son, not his. I never listened to him or followed his orders the way he wanted me to. I actually dared to _care_ about the people, their harvests, their disputes…” 

____

He abruptly broke off with a huff, angry that he had let their conversation get sidetracked. He had brought her here for a purpose that did not include sharing personal stories though he could not help but be pleased the scent of her fear had faded. “I have been receiving reports from men and lords that are still loyal to me. As you say, they have been told to build up their militias. Much of the current army is still loyal to me, not my father. I have to make sure it stays that way.” 

____

She turned her blue eyes to the fire, away from him. “Unfortunately, it seems as if your father is a brilliant commander and tactician. It might be helpful to obtain those whose advice he heeded. I was told they went into hiding when you came into power. I know many of them were returned as members of his court.” Her countenance, when he looked at her, was thoughtful. She shifted so that she was curled amidst the cushions piled around her, cat-like. 

____

He blinked, surprised at the changes that had come over the girl he had remembered, had blamed and cursed for the predicament she had tossed his country in. He had not cared to note the woman she had become, the sadness hidden deep in her indigo gaze, the sleek curves that attested to some form of physical training, the graceful way she moved. Apparently, his father had trained her... perhaps she would be of more use than he had first planned for. “I will send some of my men out to look for them though if Myouga can be obtained we can find them all the sooner. I am sure the disgusting flea can be convinced to expunge their whereabouts given the proper incentive.” 

____

Kagome frowned, having only recently realized the bloodthirstiness of Inuyasha’s cowardly retainer. “There is little incentive that you could offer him that Inuyasha and Toga,” she said, naming his father, “do not offer him tenfold. Not to mention if you call him, you will be giving away your location and he will tell Toga of the revolution you are planning.” 

____

Sesshoumaru waved his hand negligently. “My father already knows of the revolution. He simply does not believe I will succeed and so casts his gaze elsewhere. If anything, Myouga will receive punishment for bringing the Inu no Taisho such mundane news.” 

____

Kagome looked at him from the corner of her eye. The cavern was chilly but she wasn't sure she was allowed to use the blankets in the basket nearby. She was afraid to ask. “I am not sure your father will cast a disinterested eye towards your actions for long, Sesshoumaru-sama. He is an absolute ruler. Once he receives word that your revolution is no small thing, he will come to crush you and he does not care about who else gets crushed in the process.” 

____

Sesshoumaru’s eyes glinted at the implication that he was not able to think of a plan without looking at all the outcomes his actions could produce. His voice was harsh and reprimanding when he spoke. “I am no fool, miko. My father will cast an eye too late. If he pushes the date on his invasion plan, I will use it to my advantage. The other Taiyoukai are my allies. They are his enemies and they do not want him to stay on the throne long. He was the cause of more than enough trouble in his day.” 

____

She bowed from her seated position. “I meant no insult. I have the bad habit of thinking aloud, my Lord.” 

____

He nodded before he lifted his nose to the air. “My spymaster arrives. You will behave.” 

____

She frowned at the order. How misogynistic... and then she understood his warning, barely able to keep her mouth from dropping open like a fish. Her power made her hands glow, a reflex from years and years ago. “ _Naraku_ ,” she whispered, eyes wide and growing wider. “Naraku is your _spymaster_?” 

____

"Yes." Sesshoumaru was pleased to note her ability to restrain her emotions when in a state of shock. He had expected the hasty, idiotic reactions of her youth. He contemplated the changes he had been observing in her over the course of the evening. She would be an asset if she could work with her once-nemesis. He settled himself to watch. 

____

The dark hanyou sauntered towards them, blithely ignoring the shocked miko, and settling himself on the cushions to her right. He pulled a garnet-colored duvet from a basket nearby and wrapped it around his shoulders, shifting so he faced the heat of the fire. Malicious, scarlet eyes framed by ebony waves of long hair turned towards her. He smirked at her wide eyes, the gesture cruel. “Good evening, Shikon no Miko.” 

____

Kagome fought the urge to gulp and succeeded, controlling her fear. The glow faded from her hands. Here was the source of her once-nightmares, sitting next to her like they were old friends. “Good evening.” 

____

The silence stretched for a long moment, filled with the crash of the waves down the entryway and the occasional pop from a log in the fire.

"Your wish allowed me to pursue a different path, little miko." Naraku broke the silence first. He sneered as he spoke, clearly displeased with having lost to her and Inuyasha. "And now, the great Inu no Taisho and his heir seek to take my enterprise and turn it for his own gain." 

Kagome remained very still, not quite sure what to say and knowing that neither of the males before her were allies. She trusted Sesshoumaru not to kill her but not to keep her alive if Naraku chose to kill her. Her thoughts must have shown on her face because Naraku chuckled.

“ Relax, little miko. I have no desire to kill _you_." He returned his gaze to the fire as Sesshoumaru merely watched- letting them create their own equilibrium from the turmoil of their past battles. "The Inu no Taisho disrupts my trade In magical gemstones. He demands more than half in tribute to his greatness. He tells me they will be put to use for the good of the city.” The words were said with another sneer. “In my opinion, he does not deserve to live.” 

____

Kagome found her shoulders relaxing in spite of herself, listening to his body language as he spoke. She wasn't his enemy this time around and it made her wonder if he knew of what had really happened to her after the wish. By rights, he should have hated her on sight. It was curious that he did not... Maybe the wish had tempered his sociopathic tendencies? Others had changed- it was quite possible he had as well. Maybe she would respond to him... And see how the conversation went. "Those gemstones are not being put to use by any of the mages for the sake of the city. They are being utilized for the army and gifted to the females of his household." 

____

Naraku and Sesshoumaru did not look surprised at her information. 

____

She continued. “He gives them to Izayoi for her collections. Occasionally to Kikyou. I am sure that if there was some way to raid their jewelry boxes you would recover much of that which you consider stolen.” She blinked at Naraku's wry grin. 

The dark haired hanyou nodded at Sesshoumaru. "Maybe your idea to include her in this was not so far-fetched. She seems to have the right kind of shifty thinking we need." 

____

The silver-haired inu youkai held up a hand for silence when Naraku sought to continue speaking. Seconds later, a servant scurried in with a tray of tea. The female water youkai’s hands trembled a little as she served the tea, a rosy tinge to her cheeks. With a quick glance towards Kagome, she scampered out and Kagome frowned to think that she was once more the object of gossip. She had never liked being spoken of, had learned to hate it in the past few years. 

____

Naraku shook his head at Sesshoumaru. “How you convinced me to help you is beyond my comprehension.” 

____

“You hate Inuyasha more than I do.” Sesshoumaru took a sip of his tea, sitting cross-legged. "And your profits are being significantly reduced by my father's demands." 

____

Kagome accepted the tea cup from Naraku, watching his hands carefully to make sure he didn’t slip anything into her drink. He looked amused at her scrutinization. “If I may ask- why am I here?” 

____

Naraku answered when Sesshoumaru ignored her for favor of his tea. “You are here because we require a powerful mage. Despite your role in this whole fiasco, you are a powerful mage... and because all of the other options we could think of weren't acceptable. I am the one who recommended you to Lord Sesshoumaru as a candidate. It's quite possibly the stupidest thing I've done." 

____

Kagome giggled. “Sorry." She cleared her throat, looking abashed. "I just... Do you remember that babboon pelt you wore?" 

____

Naraku grinned. "In my defense, my nose wasn't nearly as sensitive as it is now. Plus, it was a trophy." 

____

Kagome barely kept herself from giggling again. Naraku justifying wearing the babboon pelt was the funniest thing she had heard in years. “Nevertheless, it seems we must start over. To that end, I once considered you a formidable opponent and... had we not been on opposing sides of that story, perhaps things would have ended differently." 

____

"You are not wrong, little miko. Though I find the turncoat nature of your honesty intriguing. You have changed." His gaze turned towards his tea cup. "I suppose we all lost something in the end... except for that idiot." 

____

Kagome's good humor disappeared instantly at the reminder. She lowered her gaze. "If it is any consolation, I would tell you the Jewel of Four Souls was twisted. Any wish that anyone would have made would have likely not lead to a beneficent outcome." She paused and then shared something she had never shared with anyone else. "I did not... trust... Inuyasha with the wish. I did not do much better; but, I do believe had I gifted him the Jewel, we would have been much worse off." 

They exchanged glances and Sesshoumaru chose to step back into the conversation. "I am assuming that my father ensured your training in the magical arts, miko?" 

____

At her nod, Sesshoumaru continued, “You are to be the head of the magical front of this movement. Naraku and I will both assist you should you need it. You report directly to me and are expected to present yourself appropriately.” 

____

She looked down at her plain, cotton garments. “I don’t…” 

____

He cut her off. “A clothier will come and prepare some more clothing for you and a handmaiden has been selected to assist you. You are now a member of _my_ household. Give me your hand.” When she lifted her hand, he took a dagger and sliced her palm open, cutting his own a heartbeat later. He pressed them together, allowing the blood to mix and bind along with the threads of their magic. Power breathed through the air, glowing pink and white and gold, heady and nauseating. She swallowed hard as the world swam around her, barely able to hear him over the thudding of her own heart. "We are bound by blood now, miko. Should you betray me or mine, your blood will turn to ash in your veins." 

____

She blinked up at him as he healed their hands with a touch from Tensaiga, staring at the cut across her palm as her senses slowly started to settle. She licked her lips, her mouth dry. That was wholly unexpected. "I am to be a member of your household?" Not even Inuyasha had allowed that over the years. 

____

“Yes. You are to wear my crest and again, you report only to me or to Naraku." Sesshoumaru paused and as an afterthought added, "Naraku is also a member of my household." He showed her a ring- a crescent surrounded by a swirl of water. "This is my crest. Traditionally the emblem of the West was a crescent moon surrounded by a swirl of water. The crescent is black, the swirl is blue. The flag is white. My grandfather wanted to introduce a new era for the West and so he kept only the crescent for the symbol.” Sesshoumaru put his tea cup down as she shook herself and seemed to refocus. There had been a lot of power in that binding. He was pleased she was able to recover so quickly. “The crescent was easier to stitch onto uniforms than the crescent and swirl.” 

____

Kagome nodded. “Your father uses the crescent only. Are you having a new seal made?” 

____

Sesshoumaru reached into his haori and pulled out a delicate silver chain. Hanging on the end was a signet ring. Kagome could barely make out the true symbol of the West on the sapphire face of the ring. 

____

Then, she gasped. “You’re the one who was posting those signs in the villages. Do you know that your father killed the entire family of the headman of the first village we rode into with those signs?” 

____

His jaw tightened and somehow Kagome ignored it. The memory of that family's screams was too horrific. “If you want your people to rise against your father than do it in a way where they can consent before they get killed. Your people will begin to dislike you if you post signs that get them killed without anyone in their village attesting for you.” 

Naraku stepped in as a muscle ticked in the silver-haired inu's jaw. "What do you propose, little miko?"

____

Kagome frowned and realized she had spoken too freely; but, it was too late for her to stop now. "Lord Sesshoumaru, as you said earlier, your people are comfortable now. They will not rise in either your or your father's favor until they are made uncomfortable. Your father is adept at using fear and murder to force people to favor him. If you do not wish to do the same, you must find those loyal to you and old enough to remember your father’s previous rule in the villages. They can spread the old stories easily and they will be listened to because they are respected by the populace for their age. They must remind those amongst them of your father's cruelty, that you are not to blame for his sadistic, violent orders. If what happened in that village happens again, you will be blamed for the deaths- not your father. The people will turn from you."

“That is no small feat you ask for, little miko. Especially considering that the current price for his capture or death is 500 gold daris.” Naraku poured them some more tea, seeking to lighten the mood. “After tonight that reward will only go up.” 

____

Kagome sighed, barely relaxing when Sesshoumaru looked away from her with a small nod. He hadn't liked her way of putting it; but, he had listened to her words- that was more than Inuyasha had ever done for her. “He can go in disguise, human disguise. His father won’t expect that. Or you could use your spy network. I would wait awhile though. They'll have soldiers searching for me everywhere.” She paused and looked at her old nemesis curiously. “What’s happening tonight?” 

____

He grinned and surprisingly, she found she wasn't scared when he did so. Sesshoumaru explained before his spymaster could. “A small fleet carrying my symbol is going to attack one of the minor holdings in the south. The Lord there is expecting the attack and has momentarily dispersed his troops due to a ‘sickness’. My father will be required to help, thus easing a small portion of his army away from the bulk. Such incidents will become common place in the near and far future, spreading his army thinly around his lands.” Sesshoumaru’s muscles were slowly loosening as he made himself ignore the reminder of the innocent blood on his hands. 

____

He rang a small bell, eyes boring into hers as he rose. “This revolution will take years to prepare. I care not what you think of me; but, I expect you to follow me. Understood?” 

____

She bowed. “Yes, my Lord.” 

____

From there, they adjourned to the dining room, their discussion continuing towards the current, tentative plans for the rebellion. 

~*~ 

__Two weeks later…__

__She shivered in apprehension as the soft strands of his hair slid over her collar bone, his breath hot in her ear. “Relax, miko. If you get nervous he will notice our presence here. Your illusions are strong enough to fool him. Do not lose your concentration.”_ _

__She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Why are you bringing me along again? Inuyasha has had men scouring the countryside for me the past two weeks. If he finds me, he isn’t going to let me go anytime soon and your next mage will be difficult to find.”_ _

__Next to her, the silk of his haori sleeve cool beneath her fingers, she felt him scoff. His currently-green eyes danced with amusement at the thought. “The only ones who could possibly break your illusion are myself or my father and we will stay far away from the latter. You will stay with Naraku, understood?”_ _

__She looked up at him, gaze trailing down the shoulder-length crimson waves to the black clothing. A smile quirked the corners of her mouth at the burgundy clouds sewn across his left shoulder, a subtle indicator of the truth of his persona. “Who would’ve thought I would one day be traipsing around the Western Court on the arm of Naraku?”_ _

__He glanced down. “Nervousness does not suit you or the situation.”_ _

__She glared up at him, ignoring the way other eyes watched their interaction and noted the matching kimono. She was playing the role of Naraku’s second-in-command’s current lover, blue eyes turned tawny, black hair turned blonde. A split second later, she smiled and giggled as they entered the waiting area outside the grand hall, the personification of laughter and sunshine._ _

__He grinned at her and she barely kept from gaping. Even after two weeks of getting used to him, she hadn’t been able to completely control her reactions to his latent sensuality. After all, she was female and only a blind woman would be immune to his charms, disguised as they were. Instead of noting the smug tilt to his mouth, she turned and surveyed the crowd, inching closer to him as she saw the jealous eyes of other merchant’s daughters metaphorically throwing daggers at her._ _

__He bent down again, wrapping an arm around her waist and she fought to keep from flinching at the possessive action. He noticed but kept the lascivious smile on his face. “The prince arrives, lovely. No doubt his mate will be covered in our gems.”_ _

__A few of the merchants close by stiffened and glowered in their direction, jealous of him; but Kagome was more awed by the completely relaxed set of his muscles. After having experienced and seen his hatred of the royal family she found it difficult to believe how easily he could smile in the direction from where they would appear._ _

__Kagome turned her head, slowly erasing the tension of her shoulders. “Do you think she’ll be wearing citrines today too?”_ _

__He tweaked one of the droplets twinkling at her ears, hand lifting to her shoulder and away from her waist. Silently, she thanked him with her eyes. “Possibly. What a thing to contemplate you and Kikyou-sama matching!”_ _

__Kagome bounced excitedly, ignoring the coil of dread winding tighter in her stomach as the powerful auras came closer._ _

__“Taro, I need you to deliver something for me. It waits in the carriage.” Naraku’s voice smoothly and quietly interrupted Kagome’s outraged gasp as the royal family came into view. His tense hand grasped her fingers as she controlled her expression into a delighted mask at his appearance._ _

__Sesshoumaru bent his nose to her hair, nudging her ear before leaving quickly and silently back through the doors from which they came. “Be good, lovely.” His voice had a timbre to it that had previously been absent, almost a growl._ _

__Naraku and Kagome watched him go, both fighting the urge to curse Inuyasha and Kikyou. They had become attached as well, Naraku when he’d kidnapped her and Kagome when she’d visited. Neither had thought that Rin would be kept by Inuyasha and Kikyou, nor that they would have hidden her from Kagome. The dark-haired, golden-eyed little girl looked utterly miserable in the arms of the Prince’s mate, her gap-toothed smile nothing but an occasional shadow. She looked around the waiting room as they moved into the grand hall, waves of hair cut to her chin as a mark of lower status. Her plain white kimono was decorated by a large black crescent between her shoulder blades and Kagome was suddenly glad that Sesshoumaru would be absent most of the night._ _

__Her trepidation at having to spend the evening alone with Naraku had all but vanished in her fury, her wonderment of where they might have locked the child up._ _

__“Shall we, Sumiko-san?” Naraku offered her his forearm, courteously leading her towards the line forming to enter the ballroom. They made small talk with the merchant family in front of them as they waited to be announced, both ignoring the tension singing through their thoughts._ _

__When they were announced, Kagome was grateful that her kimono design matched the wine-shade of his and that she had paid attention to the Etiquette Master. She didn’t trip on the way down the stairs, the folds of her kimono drifted elegantly around her legs and arms, her hair a perfect foil for the silver jewelry around her throat and at her ears. She pinched Naraku’s arm inconspicuously as they bowed to the Inu no Taisho, heart thudding in her ears as his irritation became faked awe. She made sure her eyes shone in excitement and that the false emotion didn’t falter when Toga’s eyes grew darker in lust._ _

__“Naraku,” Toga said, leaving off the respectful honorific, “we are grateful for your gifts. Kikyou and Izayoi both wear them today.”_ _

__Naraku bowed, his smile ingratiating. He hadn’t twitched at the insult of having no honorific added to the end of his name. “They honor my wares, Toga-sama.”_ _

__“Who is the lovely young lady with you?” The Inu no Taisho didn’t seem to notice when his mate stiffened at his side. Inuyasha let out a low growl, silencing at his father’s glare._ _

__“She is the betrothed of my second-in-command, Taro. She wears his engagement gift.” Naraku’s face was open, relaxed. He gestured to the delicate chain around her neck. “He designed them himself. Perhaps Kikyou-san and Izayoi-san would like something similar soon, even Rin-san.”_ _

__Rin looked up, a smile pulling at her small mouth. Kikyou held her tighter, eyes cold. “Rin is still young for such precious gifts, Naraku; and, she is not a Lady of the Taisho house. Surely you know this?”_ _

__Kagome barely held her polite mask as the smile on Rin’s face fell away like rain on glass windows. Beside her, Naraku bowed once more. “As you say, Kikyou-sama.”_ _

__Toga flicked a finger at their direction, a clear dismissal. He leant over and patted Izayoi’s cheek in appeasement._ _

__Naraku escorted her towards their right, making sure they were in a shadowed alcove overlooking the hall floor before speaking. “Do not drink or eat anything here.”_ _

__Kagome rolled her eyes in reply. “You should also tell me to stay away from the balcony and the fountain for fear of listening spells, my lord.”_ _

__“Really? Did you also know about the dais and the third and fourth columns?”_ _

__She nodded, eyeing the three men heading their way. All looked like wealthy merchants or lower nobility. Their chiffon robes were different shades of water- dark green, light blue, stormy gray, embroidered with small lightening bolts on sleeve and hem. She frowned as she recognized two apprentice mages from the Western University. Turning to Naraku, fanning herself so they couldn’t read her lips, she whispered into his arm. “They’re two of the pro-war apprentices.” She didn’t have to tell him to be careful._ _

__“Smile pretty and distract them, lovely or they will snatch up the stones I’ve reserved for other _clients_.” Naraku’s face warmed as they came closer, silently hoping the little magician by his side would be able to wile their thoughts away from his merchandise. The remaining gemstones had to be stored for the rebellion or they would be magically handicapped. _ _

__Kagome smiled seductively and put her fan away, settling down onto the cushions for the long night ahead of her. Beside her, Naraku greeted the men, beginning a conversation on the new spells being created in the Archives._ _

__IIIIIIIIIIIIIII_ _

__Kagome sighed in relief as Sesshoumaru gestured for her to hold onto him, the cold night air turning the dew on the leaves to frost. She readily wrapped her hands around his arm, shivering as they rose into the autumn fog, speeding by ghostly leaves and skeletal landscapes, leaving behind their carriage and Naraku. Despite her discomfort, she was happy to be in the fresh air, far away from the desolate eyes of the little girl once protected by the male next to her._ _

__The night had been one of the longest in her existence. Inuyasha and Kikyou had largely ignored Rin throughout the night, keeping her from playing with the other children and causing the few smiles she began to die. Kagome had been internally raging and cringing at the sight. Raging at their callous, cruel treatment. Cringing at the thought of what Sesshoumaru would do to them once he got Rin back._ _

__“Break the illusion.” His voice was quiet, even. The muscle under her hand was hard as steel._ _

__Muttering the incantation, she felt the small amount of power utilized drift away in the fog._ _

__He threw her from him as soon as they had landed in the cave entrance. When she looked at him, his eyes were cold, hard and terrifyingly crimson. “Tell me you had nothing to do with this. Tell me you did not know of her. Tell me you did not keep this from me!” His growl reverberated through the room, fangs glinting in the lantern light. Curiously, he stayed absolutely still, as if fighting the urge to move, to breathe._ _

__Kagome straightened. “I did not. I thought she’d died because of the wish. I’d _assumed_ ,” she spat the word out, hating herself, “that Inuyasha wouldn’t stoop so low as to harm a child.” _ _

__He didn’t move, eyes pinning her to the spot. “Your assumptions are beginning to grate on my nerves, miko.”_ _

__She winced, crumbling as the guilt twisted her stomach._ _

__“Go into the central chamber. Do not retire until I return.”_ _

__She turned and he was gone. A servant came for her, to light her way and serve her tea. She sank down onto the cushions she’d dubbed as hers, large velvet floor pillows that glimmered blue and violet. As she waited, she took out the pins in her hair and the jewelry he’d given her to wear, placing both in the silk-lined cases sitting on the table. The pins sparkled in the half-light, coldly merry._ _

__Naraku plopped down onto his cushions- the dark brown and amber ones, pulling a gold duvet over his lap as he levitated the tea set towards himself. “No one knew.”_ _

__Kagome started as his voice broke the silence. “Hm?”_ _

__He looked at her, crimson gaze glinting in well-controlled rage. “ _No one_ knew.” _ _

__And Kagome understood that he was kicking himself over Rin’s predicament as well; though, she didn’t know why. “That means they have places in the Palace that I have never been to. They wouldn’t have let her go far from them, not knowing how valued she was by Sesshoumaru.”_ _

__He nodded, sipping his teacup. “They’re trying to sniff out the ones loyal to him by revealing her now. It probably has to do with your disappearance.”_ _

__Kagome snorted. “A stupid move. No one with half-a-brain in the royal court would fall for that trick.”_ _

__“It will make the nobility cautious about assisting me and push back my plans for a few years.” Sesshoumaru had returned with a small bundle in his hands. His eyes were clear, golden and wickedly joyous._ _

__Kagome and Naraku exchanged confused glances, wondering why he was happy. Unless…_ _

__Kagome got up, approaching the still, silver-haired male and looking up for permission. She pulled back the rough cloth at his nod._ _

__The little four-year old was sleeping in his arms, a blissful smile on her face._ _

__Kagome laughed delightedly, softly so as to not wake her. “How did you get her without them knowing?”_ _

__Naraku spoke from behind her shoulder, looking not at the little girl but at the one who had saved her. “They almost caught you, didn’t they?”_ _

__He didn’t say anything but walked over to the black pillows, smoothly maneuvering himself and his precious cargo onto them. Rin stirred as he took off her necklace, his palm hovering over her body, engulfing it in a warm glow. Something flashed out of her collarbone, something violently purple and dark before it disintegrated under Naraku’s miasmic influence._ _

__Without asking, Naraku called the Captain of the Guard- the Rebel Guard now, and told him to set up an undetectable perimeter around the cave. The spell he’d just dissolved could and would be traced back to Rin unless Sesshoumaru’s aura was so overpowering that its caster wouldn’t notice its trail. When he turned back to them, it was to find Kagome kneeling over Rin, hands glowing dark blue in healing. “She was injured?”_ _

__Sesshoumaru looked up and Naraku took a step back at the absolute fury glowing in his poisonously green eyes. “Abused.”_ _

__Rin woke up as Kagome finished, fidgeting until they were able to unwrap her. Her head turned first to Sesshoumaru, then Kagome and finally to Naraku. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. “Sesshoumaru-sama?” Her question was painfully doubtful, terrified of being hopeful. She reached up and poked his cheek. Then she did it again as they looked on, thoroughly confused by her actions, angered once more by the fragility she exuded._ _

__When he didn’t disappear under her touch, she leapt on him, arms twining tightly around his neck, silent tears trailing down her face. She whimpered into his neck, not letting go. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her, chest rumbling in a barely discernible purr, trying to soothe the little girl in his arms. He cast a helpless glance in Kagome’s direction when Rin started apologizing, desperation coating her voice, begging to never be left with Kikyou-sama again._ _

__Kagome turned away as tears of fury attempted to leak out of her eyes. She had no right to cry for Rin. It was her fault in the first place._ _

__Naraku bent down by Rin, taking Kagome’s hand and bringing her closer to the pair. “No one’s going to take you to Kikyou anymore, Rin-san.”_ _

__Kagome nodded as Rin opened her eyes, peering at them from behind Sesshoumaru’s collar. “We won’t let Kikyou or Inuyasha near you again, Rin-chan. Sesshoumaru-sama will take care of you, sweeting. Don’t worry.”_ _

__Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru. She remained silent, searching for something in his face._ _

__He touched his nose to her forehead, gently. “No one will ever take you from me again, Rin.”_ _

__She merely laid her head back on his shoulder, eyes closing in exhaustion. A few minutes later, she was asleep._ _

__IIIIIIIIIIIIII_ _

__AN: Just to explain, any and all changes to characters’ ages, limbs (or lack thereof) and species are all because of the Shikon Jewel wish… asking me to explain it is detrimental to your state of non-confusion. ☺_ _

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	3. Chapter 3

_My sorrow, when she's here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane. – Robert Frost_

III-

Kagome shot up at the sound of a child’s heartbroken wail. Uncaring of the scandalously low dip of her sleeping yukata, she ran into Sesshoumaru’s chambers, knowing that he had already departed for the day with Naraku. No one else was allowed in their wing of the cavern.

Rin was curled into a ball amidst the crimson cotton sheets, screaming into a silk pillow.

“Rin-chan?” Kagome hesitantly sat on the bed, mentally asking Sesshoumaru’s forgiveness for invading his personal quarters. She picked the little girl up, disturbed when Rin didn’t seem to notice the movement. Rin continued shrieking with agonizing clarity into the small pillow as Kagome stroked her curling hair. “Shh, Rin-chan. It’s alright. You’re safe, sweeting. You’re safe. Inuyasha isn't here. You’re safe.”

Kagome rocked Rin, slowly prying the pillow from her fingers. Rin covered her face as Kagome set the pillow aside, subsiding to whimpers with the absence of her sound muffler. Kagome tucked the child into the curve of her body, attempting to take Rin’s hands away from her eyes. “Shh, Rin-chan. Look at me, sweeting. It’s Kagome-chan. Not Kikyou. Not Inuyasha or Izayoi or Toga. It’s Kagome-chan. You’re safe here, sweeting. Shh.” Rin shook her head, refusing to open her eyes and burrowing into Kagome’s warmth, shivering.

Kagome sat there for what seemed like hours, ignoring the pile of work Sesshoumaru had given her, the documents and spell-finders that would ferret out any mages residing in the Western Lands. Now that they were all anathema in the Western University of Spellcraft, they had to find the mages for their revolution the old-fashioned way- without the ready-made lists residing in the Archives. It was a long and tedious job and Kagome needed to get started as soon as possible; but, Rin continued to whimper as the hours went by and she stayed in Sesshoumaru’s room, trying to soothe the little girl, convince her that Sesshoumaru would come back.

A servant fetched Sesshoumaru as soon as she sensed his aura downstairs. Many had gathered in the hallway leading to their chambers when Kagome, well-liked by the staff for her intelligence and kindness, had failed to make an appearance earlier that day. He came a few minutes later, closing the door behind him and taking off his cloak. “Rin,” his voice was soft, infinitely gentle, the softest tone she’d ever heard him use.

Rin started screaming again, hiding her face in Kagome’s shoulders, hands going to her ears. “No! No! No more dreams!”

Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened, Kagome’s arms tightened and she increased the frequency of her rocking. He knelt by Kagome, lifting a hand to Rin’s head, running his fingers through her hair. “Stop screaming, Rin. You are hurting my ears.”

She stopped but she refused to lift her face from Kagome’s shoulder. “Come, Rin-chan. You are worrying Sesshoumaru-sama. Look up, sweeting. He’s right here.”

She didn’t move, head shaking in denial.

Sesshoumaru and Kagome exchanged glances, mutual heartache at Rin’s predicament connecting them momentarily. She forgot to gape at the well-spring of emotion he felt for the child when Rin moved.

“Look at me, Rin.” Sesshoumaru smiled softly when she looked up, still unable to disobey him even when she thought he was a dream. He laid a hand on her cheek. “I am real. You are safe.”

Rin tentatively touched the stripe on his cheek before once again leaping on him, clutching his haori as she burrowed as close to him as she could. Kikyou had taught her that illusions were insubstantial, touch was the key to reality; but, Rin had been scarred before the lesson had hit home, always lighting up when a fake Sesshoumaru had smiled at her before disappearing seconds later. They had called it training.

Kagome smiled at the pair of them before tiptoeing out of the room, barely able to hear the rumble of Sesshoumaru’s voice as he convinced Rin of her safety.

Sighing she asked Isabella- one of the servant girls who had taken a liking to her, to bring a kimono for her in the bathing room. Naraku raised a brow at her apparel when she walked by his open door. She stuck her tongue out at him, ignoring his laughter, more interested in her lack of fear at the dark sound. Five years ago she would have cringed at his smile, now she didn’t even twitch as he planned murder in front of her.

He was currently training a pack of spies in the merchant town of Amerilo on the Western Coast of Japan’s Central Isle, using his previous contacts to obtain information for the time being. He didn’t trust his contacts as much as he needed to and was therefore creating a completely new spy network for the revolution. He had the time and he had the resources, both of which he would need if they were to successfully pull the whole thing off.

Kagome hummed blissfully as she stood under the warm spray of the waterfall, fingers massaging the silky soap into her scalp. Her mind wandered as she washed Rin’s anxiety off her skin.

Sesshoumaru was out speaking with his youkai and human allies, obtaining information, creating plans and advising them on the roles they should occupy under Toga’s rule. They would be kept somewhat informed of the goings-on since they would become the bulk of his army; but, he never told them the entirety of his plans. To do so would give Toga easy access to dangerous information and put his allies in a deadly position. Slowly, he was setting up his chessboard.

The only two things Sesshoumaru would not leave in any of his nobles’ hands were the magical and information gathering fronts of his movement. Both were integral to his success and he made sure the leaders of both were tied to his household. Her and Naraku, she missed. Who would have thought?

“Kagome,” Sesshoumaru’s call came from behind the shoji screen where she was changing, expanding her aura, she sensed Rin with him, fixed her obi and emerged in the entrance of the indoor hot springs, faintly smelling of jasmine.

Rin was grasping his hand tightly, eyes red, her other hand wrapped in the silk of his hakama. She smiled waveringly at Kagome as if unsure of her welcome.

Kagome smiled brightly back. “Hello, Rin-chan. Do you feel better?”

Rin’s smile widened, though the caution still dampened her eyes. She nodded.

“She needs a bath,” Sesshoumaru said, looking down at the little girl.

Rin’s hand tightened in his hakama. She looked up at him fearfully.

He crouched down, hand wiping away the tear glimmering in her eye. “I will be waiting for you in the study. Kagome-san will help you bathe.”

“Come, Rin-chan.” Kagome held out her hand, smiling as gently as she knew how. “Let’s get Inuyasha’s and Kikyou’s scent off of you, hmm?”

She slowly let go of his hakama, padding towards Kagome. He nuzzled her cheek affectionately before closing the shoji door behind him. Rin whimpered.

Kagome drew her into a hug, putting a hand under her chin and turning Rin towards her. “You’re safe, sweeting. I’ll take you back to him as soon as we wash, okay?”

Rin’s eyes were dark with fear as Kagome led her inside and helped her out of her kimono. Kagome’s hands were soft as she lathered the little girl in soap, washing her hair and leading her to rinse beneath the waterfall. Carefully, Kagome dried her, thanking Isabella when the water youkai brought Rin a gorgeously crafted pale golden kimono to wear. Sesshoumaru’s symbol had been embroidered on the back in fine blue thread. Dressing the little girl and then herself quickly, Kagome took a comb with her as she wrapped Rin’s hair in a towel and led her outside.

Their footsteps were quiet as Kagome brought her to the study, opening the door and letting Rin inside first.

Rin ran to where Sesshoumaru sat, perching by his leg as he worked on the few scrolls laying across the mahogany floor table. He nodded when Kagome gestured with a comb towards the little girl clutching his hakama once again.

Kagome eased the comb through the short, fine locks, raging at the length and vowing to somehow cut off Izayoi’s and Kikyou’s hair in return. She finished quickly and laid the towel and comb to the side, scampering over to another work table cluttered with her project. She organized the documents first, laying out a map of the Western Lands and creating pins to indicate the location of a potential mage, one of Toga’s mages or an unknown magic user, color coding for ability as well. Then, she got to work on the documents, making parchment lists for every person indicated by a little flag and imbuing the flag with the information. When she tapped a pin, the information would appear on top of the location.

She worked until a small tug on her braid brought her bent neck out of its position, making her wince. Rin grasped the end of her hair, one hand clutching Sesshoumaru’s hakama. Kagome leaned back in order to see his face, almost frowning at the amusement dancing in his eyes. “Yes?”

Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru and he answered for her. “It is time that we dine. I can hear your stomach from across the room.”

Kagome blushed, forcing herself to rise slowly so that she didn’t make a fool out of herself. “Could Rin-chan hear my tummy-bear growling too?”

Rin smiled and looked down.

Kagome giggled, half-embarrassed but pleased at the smile on Rin’s face. She followed as Sesshoumaru slowly walked to the doors, nodding in passing to the servant holding them open for the three. Rin trotted next to the tall youkai, glancing up occasionally, still silent. Once, she glanced back at Kagome.

Kagome sat across from Naraku while Rin curled up next to Sesshoumaru on his floor pillow. He didn’t correct her or move her to the spot laid out by his side, choosing instead to pat her on the head and smile at her gently. “Should we ask Kagome-san’s tummy what it wants to eat today?”

Rin grinned, light entering her golden eyes; but, no sound passed her lips.

Kagome blushed, surreptitiously sniffing the air. “It wants rice and cucumber today,” she said, winking.  
“And chicken,” Naraku added.

Kagome made a face. “Bleh.”

Rin silently giggled, hiding her face in Sesshoumaru’s thigh as the servants laid out the courses instead of serving them as was usual. Sesshoumaru had requested they be left alone at the evening meal, implying that the servants who would normally wait on them would not be required.

Naraku waited until they had all left and Rin had looked up before using his fingers to make a funny face at Kagome.

Rin fell over, soundlessly mirthful.

Sesshoumaru picked up the meat bowl and began to dish out the servings, galvanizing Kagome into action. She had always been taught that women served in the home, old-fashioned to be sure but respectful as well. She served the rice, tensing when Naraku served the vegetables before she remembered that youkai families didn’t hold to normal custom. When in the company of pack, societal structures were forgotten and she blinked when she realized just how much trust Sesshoumaru had placed in herself and Naraku.

Naraku grinned at her and her eyes widened comically when she realized how much the shape-shifting hanyou trusted her too.

“Kagome-san looks like a fish, doesn’t she?” Sesshoumaru asked Rin as he handed the little girl her chopsticks. Rin’s eyes twinkled and he smiled down at her.

Kagome sighed melodramatically, taking a bite of the chicken once Sesshoumaru had begun to eat.

Rin looked down at her plate, smile fading. She put down her chopsticks.

“Rin?” Naraku put down his bowl at the concern in Sesshoumaru’s tone.

She shook her head.

Kagome winced, knowing exactly what they had done to the little girl. They had done it to her too. She scooted over, putting her fingers underneath Rin’s chin. “You can eat here, Rin. We won’t hurt you if you do. Promise.”

Rin didn’t look up, her fingers tightening in the folds of white silk when Sesshoumaru tensed. Kagome ignored his reaction, pushing her own memories away in favor of getting some food in Rin’s stomach. She probably hadn’t eaten in a week. “Rin, meet my eyes.” The quiet command worked, something pained in her tone connecting with the chocolate-haired girl. “Sesshoumaru-sama and Naraku-san will not hurt you if you eat, sweeting.”

The amber eyes were not convinced. “I promise, sweeting. They will not hurt you. No one here will hurt you.”

She reached out with a small hand, touching just beneath Kagome’s sternum where they hit to get the food back out, where they kept hitting just to make the misery more acute. Kagome nodded, ruthlessly pushing away her memories for later that night. When she was alone. “I know, sweeting. That’s where it would hurt; but, Kikyou and Inuyasha are not here. Sesshoumaru-sama wants you to eat so you can get better, okay? We won’t hurt you.”

She put the chopsticks in Rin’s hand, smiling. “You’re safe here, Rin-chan. Eat some food before it gets cold.”

Rin didn’t move, gaze falling to the plate of food.

Sesshoumaru picked her up and took her chopsticks from her, holding a piece of chicken to her mouth. Tentatively Rin ate it when he didn’t put it down after a few minutes.

Kagome scooted back and stared at her own plate, mentally grimacing. Her own appetite had disappeared in the wake of her memories and she knew that whatever she ate now would come back up later. Well, she thought, at least there was indoor plumbing in their hideaway. The youkai she was staying with wouldn’t be able to discern the depth of her nightmares.

Kagome’s pride had made her a very private creature during the three long years as Inuyasha’s personal victim. Her pain was hers and hers alone. She did not share her misery, certain that her situation was entirely of her own doing. She would reap what she had sown and no one would aid her in her burden.

She didn’t want them to… or so she told herself.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Kagome lifted her head, groaning as her neck muscles protested the quick movement. Naraku’s eyes laughed at her as she stretched in a vain attempt to get her body working again.

“It’s time to sleep, priestess.” He missed the momentary panic in her gaze as he turned away, waving a hand to dim the candles floating around their worktables.

She stood, following him out the door though etiquette said her equality with him would allow her to walk next to him. She didn’t want him to see the fear in her eyes, not certain she would be able to fake normalcy.

Inuyasha had always loved to see the slow horror take root in her when he led her to her room, waited until the first whimpers of her sleep indicated her nightmares before joining Kikyou in the suite down the hall. She had kept her gaze down once she’d realized his sadistic joy, unable to squash the dread coiling within her in her efforts to rebel against him. They had all made sure that there was no sound barrier around her room and it had taken her a long time to understand they delighted in hearing her screams.

Kagome mentally shook herself as they turned into the ocean corridor, bidding Naraku a quiet good night. She smiled at him before shutting the shoji screen door behind her, wishing that she was on the opposite side of the caverns so that if she woke up shrieking they wouldn’t hear her.

She didn’t want their pity.

Turning to face the elegantly decorated room, the normally soothing deep blue stones and teal bedspread doing nothing for her state-of-mind, Kagome slipped out of her kimono, laying it on a side table for one of the maids to wash. She put on her amethyst-colored yukata, freeing her braid and shaking out the long waves of her hair.

She _wasn’t_ in the Western Citadel. They couldn’t hurt her here. They couldn’t beat her for eating the food they gave her or whip her for wearing the color that didn’t match theirs. She shivered, trying in vain to push away her terror, trying to not remember the gleam in her former-love’s eyes as he raised bloodied claws near her face. The shadow of an old shoulder wound throbbed as her thoughts went from Inuyasha to Kikyou, an arrow plunging through the soft flesh, twisted, serrated… again and again.

“Stop, Kagome,” she whispered the words to herself, forcing her mind to blank.

_She was safe._

Kagome climbed beneath the velvet duvet laying haphazardly across her futon, putting the pillow over her face- in case her subconscious invaded her dreams. As a last precaution, she placed a sound barrier around her futon, knowing that she would need it, wishing she had placed one near the toilet as well.

She closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep, feeling the adrenaline beginning to course through her bloodstream in reaction to her nervousness.

 _~She bit her lip as four lacerations appeared between her shoulder blades, infinitely grateful that he didn’t cut deep enough to harm her spinal cord. As it was, she would be healed by the next day- thanks to that_ cursed _jewel. It made them hurt her more than they would have been able to otherwise. Her thoughts abruptly died for the night as poison burned through the lacerations, wringing a scream from her as she writhed against her bonds. A slow, deep chuckle sounded from behind her and she barely refrained from whimpering when she realized Toga was in the room. It was always worse when Toga and Inuyasha both decided to enjoy the ‘pleasures’ of her flesh. The crack of a whip preceded the stinging pain on the back of her thighs and legs. His cat-o-nine-tails hooked at the end so rips of her flesh hung down, bleeding in spring streams to pool on the floor. She screamed, voice breaking because her vocal cords hadn’t recovered from Kikyou’s playtime the night before. “I’m going to carve the crescent on your back, Kagome. You’re mine._ Mine.” _His voice was delighted as he licked a long trail from her ankle to the back of her neck, nipping her shoulder in passing. Then he carved out the crescent, peeling off her flesh, inch by torturous inch as she screamed and screamed, eventually soundless, voice disappearing beneath the weight of her pain. But when it was over, she found he wasn’t done yet. They turned her over and Toga growled at her. “You were told not to eat for a week, weakling. Why did you eat today?” She blearily opened her eyes, inwardly screaming at him in anger and despair. Kikyou had forced the food in her mouth. And then she gasped, breath leaving her as he hit her diaphragm, half-digested food erupting from her mouth as he stepped back in satisfaction. Someone threw cold, freezing cold water on her before he was in her face again, leering, fist approaching at youkai speeds.~_

Kagome woke up choking, gasping, hand wrapping around her mouth in an effort to keep her meal down. Down. Down. Down. She chanted in her head, sitting up and throwing the duvet off her suddenly feverish body. Kagome choked again, grimacing at the acidic aftertaste.

She shook with the force of her terror and adrenaline, knowing her eyes were sparkling like sapphires in the moonlight, face pale and heart-shaped in the silken mass of her wavy hair. They had once made her watch while they… She leapt up, concentrating momentarily so that a sound and scent barrier wove around her before dashing from her room.

She barely made it to the bathroom in time before it all came up and she was infinitely grateful for the barrier. At least no one else would be bothered at the late hour. Hands shaking, trembling so badly she had to try more than once just to rinse her mouth out and splash water on her face, Kagome sank to the floor of the bathing room, face buried in her knees.

Cool hands on her hot skin patted her head and she looked up, apologies falling from her mouth. Rin peered at her in the half-light of the flickering candles. There was an agonizing sadness in the little girl’s eyes, a muted reflection of Kagome’s memories and the young woman was thankful that Rin had escaped most of the torture inflicted on the Shikon Priestess. Rin patted her knee, one hand clutching Sesshoumaru’s fingers, having woken up when he’d opened his door. He’d heard Kagome’s door slide violently against the wall and Rin had looked inside the pretty room before tugging at his hand.

The little girl had known exactly where to find the powerful miko.

Kagome took Rin’s hand, both of them ignoring the quivering. She carefully kept her gaze away from Sesshoumaru, not wanting to see the pity or worse- the condemnation. She _did_ deserve it.

It was her fault her torture had happened anyways, her wish that had screwed all of their lives up.

Rin led her back to her room, trying to put the duvet over Kagome with one hand. Kagome helped her and smiled at Rin tremulously before the little girl turned and led her guardian out the door. Kagome turned over as the door slid shut, reinforcing her sound and scent barrier before slipping back into her nightmares.

She awoke before dawn the next day, drenched in sweat and knowing that if she hadn’t had the barrier up, both Naraku and Sesshoumaru would be looking at her with pity or condemnation. It was bad enough that Sesshoumaru had found her last night.

She sighed, getting up and adjusting her yukata. The duvet had been kicked off some time ago and lay twisted by the foot of her bed.

She rang the cord by her door, waiting until Mahiko- another female servant who had taken a liking to her, showed up. “Please set up a kimono for me in the bathing room.”

The pretty, golden-haired snake youkai hestitated. “Are you alright, Kagome-san? Should I tell Sesshoumaru-san you are in need of a healer?”

Kagome shook her head. “No. Thank you, Mahiko. I merely had restless dreams last night.”

Mahiko bowed, cast another uneasy glance at Kagome and disappeared.

Kagome slid out of her room as silently as possible, hurrying to the bathing room reserved for herself, Sesshoumaru, Naraku and Rin. A quick check with her aura to make sure it was empty and she walked in, shedding her yukata on the bench provided for discarded clothing. She took her time bathing, relaxing in the warm waters of the undersea spring.

She smiled as she dressed herself, infinitely more relaxed now that her adrenaline had faded to the dregs of her mind.

“Kagome.” His voice was quiet, the timbre even and her nervousness returned. She didn’t want to look into his eyes and see his reaction to her weakness.

When she rounded the corner, she saw Rin standing next to him, half-asleep as she leaned on his leg. Unwillingly, she smiled, looking up. His gaze was the same as it had always been, there was some respect, some amusement and a lot of high standards to be met. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he wasn’t going to pity her for her nightmares. “Come, Rin-chan. Let’s go bathe, sweeting.”

She held out her hand and this time Rin came to her without hestitation, turning for one long look at Sesshoumaru. He knelt and nuzzled his ward’s head before retreating from the room.

When she had finished bathing Rin, telling the little girl random stories all the while, she took Rin to the study. There, Kagome showed Rin her project, explaining what the pins meant while they waited for Sesshoumaru and Naraku to finish their morning rituals.

Isabella came for them an hour after the sun had risen. Rin held her hand all the way to the dining room, running to sit by Sesshoumaru when they entered.

Kagome smiled and went to her spot, serving the food once the servants had left.

They all picked up their chopsticks and began to eat after Sesshoumaru. Rin stared at Kagome and then at her food.

Kagome paused when she realized Rin wasn’t eating. “Rin-chan?”

Rin looked at Kagome, eyes dark with fear. Sesshoumaru and Naraku watched their interaction, bowls being laid down.

Kagome put down her chopsticks, leaning over to pat Rin’s cheek. “I just had a bad dream, Rin-chan. I promise.”

Rin looked at the half-eaten apple slice on Kagome’s plate.

The miko smiled reassuringly. “Sesshoumaru-sama won’t hurt you, sweeting. No one here will hurt you.”

Rin touched her obi, her diaphragm. Kagome winced. “No, sweeting. I just had a bad dream. I was remembering. No one hurt me here.”

Rin put down her chopsticks, gaze turning to Sesshoumaru. He pulled her into his lap again and fed her.

Kagome sighed, sending Sesshoumaru an apology through her eyes. He nodded, accepting.

Naraku watched it all with sharp eyes. “You were Inuyasha’s pet.”

Kagome looked at her plate, pear slice hovering in the air as her stomach churned. “Yes.”

“His privileged pet. He decked you out in silk and jewels.”

Kagome nodded, putting down her pear slice, blanking her eyes into a politically polite mask. She noticed when Sesshoumaru minutely shook his head in Naraku’s direction, causing the hanyou to subside; but the damage was done. She would be having nightmares for weeks.

She didn’t eat anymore, just drank some juice, knowing that if she ate she would throw up. Afterwards, she took Rin’s hand as Sesshoumaru and Naraku left for the day. Most of their planning took place in the castle during the evenings; but, implementation of the plans took place all across the Western territories. They were primarily setting up contacts and networks at the moment, a time consuming endeavor that would allow for efficient communication later on. She set Rin to copying kanji and lost herself in her work- thoroughly so she wouldn’t have to be thinking of the royal family.

The two of them spent the afternoon writing, Rin deciding to take a nap on the cushions by Kagome’s knee after she had eaten her noon meal alone. Kagome had fed her and had eaten some fruit to convince the child it was alright to eat.

Rin was sitting by Kagome when Sesshoumaru and Naraku returned; both pausing to watch as the little girl peered avidly at the colors dotting the map of the Western Lands, poking the different pins with all the curious enthusiasm of youth while Kagome remained bent over a piece of parchment, mouthing words and magic.

Kagome smiled when the parchment disappeared, belatedly noticing that Rin was no longer next to her. Worriedly she looked around and came face-to-legs with Sesshoumaru and Naraku. Rin was being held by Sesshoumaru.

“How was the training of the spies and troops?” she asked as they sat on the sea of cushions- courtesy of Rin, surrounding her desk.

“The troops are beginners,” Sesshoumaru replied, grinning when Kagome winced, knowing the roughness of their training. “Mostly villagers who are already feeling the sting of my father’s whip.”

“The spies are learning quickly, two will be coming here to guard you and Rin-san after they pass your truth spells.” Naraku reclined on the cushions, arranging a bed out of the fluffy burgundy satin. He sighed in pleasure as he stretched out.

Kagome laughed. “I didn’t know youkai could get so tired with a day’s work.”

He peeked at her with one eye closed. “I didn’t know miko could zone out effectively enough to not notice two powerful auras headed her way.”

She frowned. “It’s a good thing. I work faster that way.”

“Only good when in a safe environement.” Sesshoumaru’s voice floated to her behind the edge of her desk and she realized he had created another temporary bed next to Naraku.

“I am in a safe environment, my Lord.” Rin was apparently sitting on Sesshoumaru’s chest because she giggled silently when she scratched his belly, visibly moving at his loud purr.

Naraku chortled. “I can not believe you’re dog enough to like a belly rub.”

Kagome sighed and put her work away. “Really. Why didn’t we just scratch his tummy when he was trying to skewer us with that sword of his? It would have been a great distraction, ne Naraku-san?”

Sesshoumaru half-sat up, muscles outlined against his white silk haori, almost making Kagome forget to close her mouth. He glared at her. “That would have been under-handed.”

She gaped. “Are you serious? You like it that much?”

His glare intensified. “Silence, miko. Your impudence is irritating.”

He rebuked her but she wasn’t listening. She was laughing at the thought of Sesshoumaru being stopped in the midst of a battle by a tummy scratching. His moko-moko-sama would be wagging in the air behind him, eyes closed in pleasure, tongue out.

Grumbling, Sesshoumaru reached over to put his hand over Kagome’s mouth when he felt Rin shake. Looking down, he couldn’t stop the smile when he realized Rin had tears of laughter running down her face. He sighed, gaze softening as he let them laugh at his expense.

He saved his pride- somewhat, by telling himself they were close to him.

However he did cuff Naraku soundly on the shoulder as the hanyou chuckled next to him. Naraku ignored him.

Sesshoumaru picked Rin up and walked out the door with as much dignity as possible, leading the way towards the dining room as the other two guffawed behind him, holding onto each other and gasping random imaginative fragments that set them both off again.

Giant puppy indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

_Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before. – Edgar Allen Poe_

IV- 

_Two months later…_

Kagome ignored Mahiko’s worried gaze as she tottered to the bathing room, knowing that she looked pale and wan. _Exhausted._ She stifled a yawn, refusing to give in to the desire to sleep because she knew what lay on the other side of her consciousness. It had been two months since the first nightmare and she had gotten at most four hours of sleep a night since. 

She shook out her hair, grimacing at the curling, sweaty strands by her face- courtesy of her adrenaline rush of a night. At least she was able to keep her sound and scent barrier up, keeping her sleeplessness from everyone else in the nearby vicinity. Sighing she sank completely beneath the water, floating underneath the surface for as long as she could before coming up for air. When she had blinked the water out of her eyes, she discovered a small, smooth body swimming next to her. 

Rin smiled at her cheerfully, hair piled on top of her head in a haphazard bun. Kagome smiled back, feeling her morning bath cleansing away the residual effects of the horrible memories. She reached for their soap, humming a song, low and melancholy while she worked it into her scalp. Rin sat on a rock and ran a bubbly rag over herself, listening with interest, head cocked to the side. 

Kagome soaped herself thoroughly and then both she and Rin washed beneath the waterfall, laughing as they made funny faces at each other through the hazy liquid. Kagome dried her hair with a towel as Rin continued to play in the water, swimming with a toy boat Naraku had brought back for her. 

“Come, Rin-chan.” Kagome’s voice was hoarse, her throat raw from screaming last night. She sighed, knowing it would be difficult to pass off to Sesshoumaru and Naraku. She was surprised they hadn’t said anything to her thus far; but, they’d both increased the difficulty of their training sessions and had been exceedingly distracted the past three to four weeks. 

Rin frowned at her as she was dried off then smiled delightedly when she caught sight of the kimono laid out for them. 

They were matching in shades of garnet and burgundy with violet and ebony cranes flying over their right shoulders from their left ankles. The white obi were decorated with lavender and charcoal clouds interspersed with exquisitely detailed feathers. Kagome’s eyes widened at the over-robe, fingering the embroidered brocade. 

It would be the finest garment she had ever worn. She had no clue as to why he had gifted her with something so beautiful. She wasn’t pack, she was just an ally and not worthy of wearing such a valuable kimono even if she was to be part of his household. 

Rin tugged on Kagome’s hand, having already put on her kimono. She needed help with the obi and Kagome gladly obliged. The little girl waited patiently while Kagome put on the other kimono, incredulity still painted in her eyes. For the first time since she had arrived at the cave, Kagome went to the small circular area half-hidden from the hot spring, rummaging through the carved rose wood boxes as Isabella and Mahiko combed their hair. She pulled out a small amethyst encrusted pin for Rin’s hair and a decorated ash wood chopstick for herself. With deft movements, she pulled half of her hair in a bun held together by the chopstick at the back of her head, allowing the rest to hang in a damp sheet to her mid-back. Rin’s hair was pulled to the side with the little pin, the style reminiscent of her previous sideways ponytail. 

Rin tugged on her hand, leading her out the door where they promptly (and quite literally) ran into Sesshoumaru and Naraku. 

Kagome stepped back in surprise, Rin grinning as she latched onto Sesshoumaru’s leg. He patted her head, inconspicuously allowing his eyes to roam over the young woman in front of him. She looked stunning in the kimono, her eyes sparkling, hair glimmering with blue highlights in the grey dawn. He frowned. She was too pale. 

“Good morning, Kagome, Rin-chan.” Naraku’s voice brought him out of his musings on the miko’s health, annoyingly cheerful. 

Kagome smiled and he noticed the tired set of her shoulders, the shadow in her eyes that had not been there a week ago. Why hadn’t he noticed? 

He shook himself mentally as she took his ward’s hand and walked down the corridor, watching the smooth sway of her hips before Naraku poked him. He looked at the snake hanyou, choosing to ignore the lascivious smirk. Any male would have been distracted by her; he was no exception. “She’s hiding something.” 

Naraku opened the door and stepped in, placing a sound barrier around the spring as they stepped out of their clothing, glad that Sesshoumaru hadn’t once more tried to discover his own secret love. Before Sesshoumaru could ask the reason for the barrier and subsequent secrecy, Naraku spoke. “Have you heard her fidget when she sleeps?” 

Sesshoumaru shook his head. No. 

Naraku looked at his hands through the water for a long moment. “I asked around about Inuyasha’s missing pet a while ago.” 

He fell silent, face blank. Sesshoumaru sensed that he couldn’t find the right words to express his thoughts and remained quiet, getting the soap. “He…” he stopped, crimson gaze _furious_ , surprising Sesshoumaru, “They tortured her.” 

Sesshoumaru paused. They had already known that. After all, Rin had been covered in bruises when he’d brought her home, still wasn’t eating on her own, hadn’t spoken a word yet. Even if Naraku wasn’t a cold-hearted bastard, there was no reason for his current barely-constrained anger on the miko’s behalf. Both he and the hanyou were beginning to grow attached to the hard-working, intelligent, kind-eyed miko he’d stolen from his brother. Well, he’d always been attached to the girl, having found her the only companion worth talking to in that rag tag group of shard hunters. He’d been toying with the idea of taking her under his wing before they’d brought the two Shikon halves together and the subsequently, disastrous wish, thanks to Kagura. 

Thus, he waited for an explanation. He wanted to know why Naraku was fighting for control at the thought of what they had done to her. Beatings were part of domestic domination in some less savory youkai households. It had been something he’d tried to stop when he had been in power. 

Naraku saw his incomprehension and took a deep breath, knowing that as a pack youkai Sesshoumaru would be as disgusted and furious at her treatment as he was. “They tortured her, Sesshoumaru. Tortured. With claws and poison and whips. Things meant for prisoners of war. _Not those proclaimed protected._ ” 

It was one of the oldest youkai laws. Someone placed under the protection of a youkai was never to be harmed by that youkai. His- _their_ beautiful priestess had been labeled as under the protection of Toga’s house in front of the entire Court, the label one that was publicly acknowledged. The notion went against every instinctive bone in a youkai’s body, everything that defined the honor of higher youkai. One thing Toga and Inuyasha had always claimed to have. 

Sesshoumaru was abruptly crimson-eyed. He wanted to throw her against the cave wall and demand of her the reasons for her close-mouthedness. He was the alpha. He was supposed to be told these things. He growled, the sound causing ripples to appear in the water. “She had a nightmare the second night Rin was here. Apparently they made Rin and Kagome throw up their food by punching them in their stomachs, right beneath their ribcages. She was shaking when Rin found her.” Why hadn’t he kept a closer eye on her after that? 

Naraku hissed. “Has she been having nightmares since then? I know she hasn’t been eating a lot but she’s very small and I’d assumed that was her regular diet.” 

Sesshoumaru shook his head, dispelling the blood lust in his veins with pure strength of will. He would make them pay for all of their transgressions, beginning with their treatment of Rin and Kagome. No one hurt his pack and got away with it. Kagome wasn’t pack- _yet_ said the little voice in the back of his mind, but she was damn close. 

“She owes us an explanation.” Naraku stepped out of the water, putting on an elegantly crafted hakama and haori in the same shades as Kagome’s and Rin’s kimono. His sash was white, feathers sewn in delicate charcoal. Sesshoumaru’s male kimono was similar though the silk was black, the cranes glowing like embers over his sleeve, drifting through violet clouds. Sesshoumaru ignored the implication of the kimono. 

They _were_ family after a fashion and he, surprisingly, didn’t mind dressing in the same style as them. With a mental start, he realized he was beginning to instinctively think of them as family even though he had only known them for little over two months. Naraku was a longer acquaintance but no less surprising in the brotherly relationship developing. He mused as they walked through the carpeted stone hallways. His instincts were already recognizing them as pack even if his logical side had not. Curious. 

The two were waiting for them in the dining room, Kagome explaining how fruit grew while Rin listened wide-eyed. 

Rin perked up when she saw him, eyes crinkling when she noticed his matching attire. She clapped her hands as they seated themselves and Naraku grinned at her. 

“Rin-chan looks pretty today,” he said. His hand slid into his haori sleeve, bringing out a small box. “I think she deserves a gift.” 

Rin’s eyes grew in astonishment, mouth forming an ‘o’. She looked at Sesshoumaru, grinning excitedly when he nodded and smiled. Clambering over his lap, heedless of proper decorum, she leaned over Naraku’s arm in order to see better as he opened the box. 

She bounced as he pulled out a small bracelet inlaid with lapis lazuli flowers and put it around her wrist, unable to see the protective spells woven into the metal working. She turned and showed Sesshoumaru first. 

“Very nice, Rin.” 

She beamed, sliding off his lap to show a smiling Kagome. “It’s beautiful, sweeting.” 

Then, surprising everyone, the little girl turned and bowed to Naraku, mouthing ‘thank you’. He smiled. “You’re welcome, sweeting. You are most welcome.” 

As they were speaking, the servants had come in and placed all the dishes on the table before leaving the four as had become the morning practice. 

Sesshoumaru chose to serve the meat for the morning, carefully giving Kagome a bit more than what she was used to. She served the fruit and Naraku served the coffee- all three adults having found they liked the overseas drink tremendously. Naraku’s men had been stealing the coffee beans from the traders headed for the Palace and the Western Lord. Kagome knew part of their enjoyment stemmed from the fact that they were drinking something coveted by Kikyou and Toga. 

Sesshoumaru and Naraku watched as Kagome ate half of what she had been served, finishing most of the fruit and some of the meat. She drank her coffee with milk as was her ritual and smiled when Rin nuzzled her head, a habit she’d picked up from Sesshoumaru. She held the little girl’s hand as they all traipsed to the study, studiously ignoring the lethargy waiting to consume her. 

“Go wait inside, Rin. Start your letters.” Sesshoumaru held the door open for the little girl, patting her head as she let go of his hand to take her customary cushions by his table. He flicked a hand at his guards, a silent dismissal. Naraku set up the sound barrier around the three of them, waiting until the hallway was empty before turning to pin the miko with his glare. 

“What is wrong?” Sesshoumaru’s voice, while irritated was gentle. 

Kagome blinked. “Huh?” 

Naraku snorted at her reaction. “You’ve been out of it for the past week. You’re tired,” he eyed her critically, “and you’re hiding something from us.” 

She frowned. “What?” 

“Something is bothering you.” 

She looked away from Sesshoumaru as he spoke, at her silk covered toes. 

Naraku forced her gaze up with two fingers beneath her chin. “Are you having nightmares?” 

She kept her lashes down, sorely disappointed that they had noticed. Why, oh why couldn’t they just let her be? She had tried to hide it for a reason. “It doesn’t matter.” 

“Look at us, Kagome.” Sesshoumaru’s order forced her blue eyes up. She couldn’t disobey him. “Are you having nightmares?” 

“Yes.” Her gaze flitted to his shoulder, not wanting them to see her embarrassment. 

They both growled at the admission but it was Sesshoumaru who asked. Naraku let him take the lead. “Why did you keep this from us?” 

She shook her head. “It is my fruit to reap, my wish that made this happen.” 

That stopped them. They exchanged glances. Once upon a time three years ago, they would have agreed with her reasoning. Now they could not. She was one of the most kind, unprejudiced people they had ever met; even the servants were all crazy about her and they didn’t spend nearly as much time with her as her two male companions. 

Sesshoumaru spoke first. “I might have agreed with you once; but, I can not do so today, not in good conscience. You are not cruel or unjust. Your wish, while disastrous, was made with the best of intentions. You did not plant these seeds, you were merely the rain that allowed them to grow.” 

Naraku forced her to look at them again. “It is not your place to reap this harvest. It is _their_ place.” 

She whispered, trembling, hiding the moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes. “It was _my_ wish.” 

Sesshoumaru and Naraku simultaneously wiped away the tears. “It was _his_ wish.” 

She remained silent, gazing at them as she thought, letting her guilt go bit by bit as she listened to the truth of his words. “That knowledge will not stop my memories from haunting me.” 

Sesshoumaru touched his nose to the crown of her head, inhaling her scent. Jasmine- their soap, waterfalls and an autumn dawn. She smelled soothing, like a cool balm meant to heal burning wounds, like rain for a land dying of thirst. His description of her initial role in this fiasco had been apt. “I am the alpha. You are not to keep something like this from me ever again. Understood?” 

She nodded hesitantly, squeaking when Naraku picked her up and carried her into the room. Rin looked up in surprise as Kagome struggled in vain. After all, she was wearing a kimono and was having a difficult time moving in the folds of fabric. Naraku impishly grinned in reply, winking at the golden-eyed little girl. “Kagome-san was being naughty.” 

Kagome did a fairly good impersonation of a growl as he put her down on her cushions. He growled back playfully before turning towards his desk. Then, he stopped when he felt something hit him between his shoulder blades. Slowly, predatorily, he turned, glancing down. A slipper? 

Kagome yelped and ran behind Sesshoumaru before she realized what she was doing. Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder, eyebrow raised. “May I assist you, Lady of the Tiny Feet?” 

Kagome blushed, standing, embarrassed. She mumbled an apology as Naraku cackled next to Rin. “That was childish.” 

Sesshoumaru made a small noise in the back of his throat as she walked back to her seat. The two core players in his revolution had become playmates of a sort, often partaking in amusements that would seem childish to an outsider. He had fun watching them though they primarily did it for Rin. Shaking his head, he returned to his work. Going through the reports of allies, the numbers of his troops, the comings and goings of those loyal to his father, the information was absorbed and utilized as he shifted and changed strategies based on what he read and discerned. 

An ‘oomph’ and giggle made him look up. Rin was sitting in Kagome’s lap showing the girl something she had drawn on her chalkboard. Kagome ‘ooed’ and ‘ahed’ before patting the little girl and sending her off to do more work. Rin pouted but did as she was bid, moving her pillows and little table by her surrogate father’s desk. 

Across the room, Naraku was absorbed in his reports, quill scratching as he wrote more reports for Sesshoumaru to read later that evening while he went to gather information from his finally-trained pack. 

Sesshoumaru looked back at Kagome, mouth twitching when he found her leaning over her work once again, completely oblivious to her surroundings. He heaved a sigh as he forced his mind to concentrate, pushing away his mixed feelings for the soon-to-come day when Kagome would finish her project. On the one hand, they would be able to start training their mages. On the other hand, it would mean more reports for him. 

He dipped his quill in the ink bottle. 

He hated paperwork. 

~*~ 

_Eight-ish months after Kagome joined the revolution…_

Kagome stifled a scream in her pillow as she woke up, shivering in terror. Someone slid her door open and she turned as Naraku entered her room, eyes half-lidded in sleep. He wrapped his arms around her, shifting her to the side so that he could lay down next to her, tucking her into his chest in an entirely non-sexual way. His movements were smooth with the ease of long practice and he no longer stayed up the entire night to make sure she rested. 

“Drop the spell, Kagome. You’re safe.” His breath was warm in her ear, compelling. 

She dropped her sound and scent barrier, throwing her pride out the window in the wake of her fear and curled into the comfort he offered. He momentarily tensed as his nose was hit with the full force of her horrific memory, then he purred for her, hands rubbing soothingly up and down her back. “Shh… you’re safe.” 

He smiled into her pillow when he finally felt her breaths even out in sleep, amazed at the irony of their position when compared to their pasts. No one in their right minds would have predicted that the power-hungry hanyou seeking the Shikon Jewel would one day be comforting the woman who had forever torn it from his grasp. The wish had changed him as well, had tempered his evil tendencies so that he made sure to aim his traps at his enemies only. He remained a wonderfully mean, arrogant male; but, he remembered how to smile and protect as well though few were allowed to see that side of him. One was the little female in his arms. He still wasn’t quite sure as to how she’d made it to pack position in his eyes. He had only really known her a grand total of almost-eight months. Perhaps it was their close living quarters? 

Kagome began to fidget just as he was dropping back into the haze of sleep, whimpering as she fought the cage of his arms. He shook her gently awake, resisting the urge to tear Inuyasha a new one for almost breaking such a strong woman. She woke with wide eyes, chest heaving, touching his face gently as if to make sure he was real before curling once more into his chest. 

Behind him, the screen door slid open, closed, and the soft padding of two pairs of feet stopped at the edge of the mattress. Rin stumbled sleepily over his and Kagome’s legs, startling the raven-haired priestess awake. Rin snuggled into Kagome’s back, clutching Sesshoumaru’s moko-moko-sama. Kagome smiled and went back to sleep, aura peaceful as Sesshoumaru’s protective youki drifted over them. 

After that day approximately five months ago, Kagome had discovered that pack youkai liked to sleep in puppy piles when distressed. To her consternation, both Naraku and Sesshoumaru had lain awake that night waiting for a fluctuation in her aura. Sesshoumaru had woken her with a hand on her shoulder, Naraku having gone to get pillows after seeing the dark terror reflected in her eyes and scent. Unknown to Kagome, they’d both been astounded at the depth of her horror, wondering- especially when she smiled, at her strength to keep walking the path chosen for her by Fate after whatever she had experienced. All four of them had snuggled under the bed coverings that night, drifting off under the pleasant feeling of their combined warmth. 

Sesshoumaru and Rin had lately begun to forgo sleeping in his room, joining Kagome after their evening activities were finished. The first time Kagome had woken to find Sesshoumaru wrapped around her with his nose behind her ear, she had almost hyperventilated. He’d smiled, smugly, at her reaction before going back to sleep, pretending he couldn’t smell the heat that filtered through her scent. Naraku, curled up by her feet with Rin, had lifted his head groggily, chuckling when he’d figured out Kagome’s predicament. The shape-shifting hanyou- then in dog form, had wagged his tail, commending Sesshoumaru. Kagome had thrown a pillow at him before being pulled back down by a hard arm and told to close her eyes, which (of course) had only distracted her more. A flustered Kagome had huffed at him, cheeks staining red. He _must_ have known the effect his voice had on females because his mouth had curved wider next to her neck. 

Slowly, Kagome had gotten used to waking up next to the warm male bodies of her companions, her trust in them growing until she realized she was growing attached- as attached as she had been to her last pack. The thought scared her but the harder she tried to keep her tattered heart close, the more she found it slipping away from her. 

Beside her, Naraku groaned, arms tightening in his sleep. She twisted until she was facing Rin, one hand escaping the confines of her quilt- it was winter now and _cold_ , to wrap around the little girl. Rin nuzzled her arm, a smile forming over her small mouth. Then, someone barked loudly… in their ears. 

All three jumped awake as Sesshoumaru barked again, eyes blazing crimson, stripes growing light with his power. “Naraku, move to the new hideaway in the West. Kagome take Rin and go with Naraku. _Remain inside_.” 

Kagome picked up a wide-eyed Rin, wrapping her in the teal duvet Naraku had been using before dashing outside, powers making her eyes cloud with mist. Down the corridor towards the kitchens they heard the sounds of a clanging battle, pots and pans being used as ably as swords by their loyal staff. Far away, over the racket, Kagome sensed them. 

Holding Rin closer and ignoring the fear when Sesshoumaru headed towards the noise, Kagome allowed Naraku to herd her towards a blank wall, trusting him as he pushed her towards the rock face. Naraku followed after a moment, triggering the spells for the hideaway’s movement. They fell through into the cold, _freezing_ ocean. Grappling, slipping and ignoring the sting and drag of the salt water, Kagome managed to keep her footing on the rock ledge Naraku was illuminating for her with a wan will-o-the-wisp. “Put it out,” she whispered, hoping that no one would sense or see the small spell. Toga was one of the few people who would be able to and he was standing on a boat somewhere outside. “I can sense the earth. I’ll be fine. Toga will See.” 

Naraku hissed in angered surprise, flinging the light away with a thought. “He’s a Seer?” 

“No,” she whispered back, hiding Rin’s shivering face in her neck. “But he’s powerful enough that he might as well be. Don’t use magic until we’re well away from here. If he senses you, your trading network is done for and your alibis will be null and void. You will have no way of getting back into Court and giving Sesshoumaru’s nobles his messages.” 

He didn’t say anything, grasping for her hand and leading her through the darkness towards a dim fog, a lighter patch of black that Kagome soon discovered was the night sky covered by snow clouds. “We have to swim,” he said, barely discernible over the howls of Toga’s men. 

She sighed, handing Rin to him and smiling reassuringly at the child before tying the girl firmly to his back. A small spell allowed the girl to breathe underwater, Naraku forming gills for himself while sniffing the air for rogue soldiers. Kagome winced when the bit of power for her own breathing spell drifted away in a sudden gust of wind, hoping against hope that it dispelled before reaching the ships on the horizon. 

She caught sight of _them_ before she could help herself, surprised at the bone-deep fury that erupted in her. Naraku caught her hand and pushed her into the waves before she could ruin their chances of escaping by doing something stupid. Kagome glared in their direction. It would be wonderful to see Inuyasha erupt in flames after being hit by lightening; but, she followed Naraku when the male dived, grateful that her light yukata wouldn’t hamper her swimming. Holding onto his shoulders when he gestured for her to come closer, Kagome prepared herself for a rush of ice water. Instead, they stilled when an eruption lit up the sky with fog and fire above the water line. Kagome took a deep breath, worried about the servants and guards caught in the blast. Naraku swam, the bottom half of his body having turned into a dolphin tail. 

The eruption was the cue for their escape. The momentary annihilation of scent and heat- evidence of people, was the split-second where they were supposed to run as far as they could. It would be more than a little bit difficult for Toga’s men to track them without any trails. The rendezvous point was a large tree in the middle of the magical Tahaii Forest. The tree’s roots were hollowed out with magic and varnish to connect with various chambers, escape routes and the like far beneath the surface of the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru had started creating the subterranean city when he’d realized how little his father liked him. At the time, his closest friend had been an aging elemental sorcerer who had gladly assisted the young youkai prince in his endeavor. The man had died on falsified charges of treason; but, his memory lived on in the beautiful work he had left behind. It was largely due to him that the city existed. 

Kagome raised her head when they slowed, pushing away her thoughts and looking up at the foam and glimmers of light that meant crashing waves. They had stopped in a calm spot next to a cliff side. Naraku pushed her waist and she let go of him, following when he swam down towards a small crevasse in the ocean floor. He had gotten rid of the tail and was grasping onto a strand of dark kelp, tugging. A second later he drifted back, the red kelp having been pulled free. He took her hand and swam into the leafy underwater forest. Kagome felt the temperature changing around her, the very water becoming heavier, denser and then suddenly she was walking through a forest in the middle of a snowstorm. Naraku grabbed her around the waist and leapt into a tree, poking her until she expanded her senses around them and shook her head to tell him they were alone. He leapt through the swirling bits of white and crystal higher into the air, twisting through grey wind currents and onto the branch of a gigantic tree. 

Kagome’s mouth was hanging open as she peered over his shoulder at the sheer size of the branch let alone the trunk. An army of giants could have fit into thing with ease. The diameter alone was miles long and her mind boggled to think at the circumference of the earthly denizen. She looked around them and was astonished to discover that there were other, _larger_ trees looming above theirs. 

Naraku put her down so that he could use both his hands to work, tracing patterns and runes on the trunk of the tree. He leapt away into the blizzard, leaving the two girls shivering in the wake of the wind as the burgundy ropes of his magic twirled around the trunk and sank beneath the snow into the ground. Kagome whispered reassurances to Rin as he worked, knowing that he was recreating their Cavern in the Prince’s Hideaway down below. All of their documents, information, clothing, weaponry, herbs, gemstones, etc. had been compressed into a secondary existence the minute Naraku had triggered the explosion spell earlier. 

They could only hope that Sesshoumaru and everyone else had survived and would make it back before Toga started scouring the countryside once again. 

Kagome laughed silently to herself. Toga would be stupid enough to send out an army in the middle of the winter when there was little food and shelter to be found. Such actions would only work in the rebellion’s favor. Despite how well-fed and pampered he kept his soldiers, the people would begin to hate him. Soldiers were a nuisance, especially Toga’s soldiers. Toga didn’t teach his men honor. He taught them bloodthirstiness and it would be the people who would pay the price of those lessons. Those loyal to Sesshoumaru had long since left and situated themselves around the country in order to stay away from Toga’s eye. Half of the nobles of the Western Lands had returned to their homes in the provinces instead of remaining in the capitol city as had been their wont under Sesshoumaru’s reign. 

Kagome shivered violently as a particularly cold blast of wind almost knocked her off the branch, keeping her powers down when they tried to warm her and Rin. She wasn’t going to let her aura free with the amount magic already floating around them. As it was, it would be a miracle if no one noticed the spells Naraku was releasing. 

Suddenly a door appeared in the trunk face, Naraku grinning as he extended a hand. Kagome frowned, putting Rin down and holding her back when Rin tried to go towards him. 

Something was off. 

His smile slowly disappeared, hand falling as confusion crossed his face. 

Pain erupted in Kagome’s calf and she stifled a shriek as the illusion disappeared, grabbing Rin and twisting so that the girl was behind her. “Kikyou,” she hissed, power blazing in her veins unencumbered by enchanted chains. She smiled when the other miko’s eyes widened at the black shadows twining around Kagome’s arms. Black magic, death magic, could only be controlled by the most powerful mages in the land. On last count there had been six female enchanters, Kikyou raging at their refusal to include her in their circle. Now, Kikyou would report seven. 

“Kagome,” Kikyou replied, eyes lighting up in sadistic pleasure, “and Rin.” She laughed. Rin whimpered. “Delightful. I will be able to tell Toga exactly where you are. He’ll follow the scent of your blood, Ka-go-me,” she purred, reminding Kagome of the damp stones, the shattered mirror. 

A glimpse of silver scales from the corner of her eye warned Kagome and she lifted a hand, muttering a spell of forgetfulness seconds before Kikyou could be swept away by her dragons. The other miko had figured out that Kagome could only be tamed in chains. She wouldn’t be able to capture the girl as originally intended and had planned on letting Toga do the honors; however, she realized as she was carried along that she couldn’t remember the exact location of the hideaway, couldn’t recall the appearance of it, the familiar feel of the magic whipping through the air. Kikyou’s eyes could barely discern the dark shadow stretching for leagues beneath her fluttering hakama through the blizzard clouds. She clenched her hands in fury, gritting her teeth when she realized what Kagome had done. 

For her part, Kagome clutched Rin close to her and conjured bandages for her wound after pulling out the arrow and burning it, transporting every last drop of her blood to the sea so that the scent could be washed away. Unfortunately, she couldn’t heal herself, a curse of her powers. The girl was whimpering, helpless sounds that tore at Kagome’s heart as much as her own fear bubbled like champagne fizz in her veins. 

“Shh, Rin-chan. We’re safe. We’re safe.” She repeated the phrase over and over until Naraku appeared at her shoulder, his yukata half-undone. He picked her up, not noticing her tension dispel at the contact, sprinting down the trunk and into a small curve in the roots, landing lightly on his toes as they fell through a hole. 

He took both hers and Rin’s hands and placed them on the ground, binding them to the protection encrypted in their hideaway. Now, they would be able to see exactly where they were going instead of wandering paths and caverns meant to confuse and deter invaders. 

Rin clutched at his hand when he got up and he bent to nuzzle her head in reassurance. Kagome picked the little girl up, ignoring the slight pain in her leg. They had too much to worry about right now for her to let her leg take up her attention… and she didn’t want Naraku to worry. “Kikyou found us.” 

He looked at her, exhaustion slumping his shoulders. “Did you take care of her?” 

“I let her go with a forgetfulness spell. She won’t remember where she was or who she sensed here.” Kagome’s eyes were hard, uncharacteristically cold. “I want her to make him miserable before I put her out of her joy.” 

“That’s devious.” Naraku smiled and hugged her. “I knew I liked you for a good reason. Come on, I’m hungry.” 

Kagome shook her head as she followed him. “Now what?” 

Naraku sighed as he led the way into the kitchen, the space as immaculate as it had been before the battle. “Now we wait.” 

Rin whimpered and curled into Kagome’s lap as Kagome sank down onto the cushions before the fire. Kagome tightened her hold around the little girl, laying her cheek on Rin’s cold hair. “Shh, Rin-chan. Everything’s going to be alright.” Naraku lifted his head, a finger on his mouth for silence and a heartbeat later Kagome sensed what he’d smelled. 

Someone was in the foyer. Someone injured and _powerful_ was in the foyer and it wasn’t Sesshoumaru. 

Her pulse raced as Naraku went out the door, gesturing for her to stay behind. 

~*~


	5. Chapter 5

_The beginning of love is a horror of emptiness. –Robert Bly_

V- 

“Kagome, come outside. He needs help.” Naraku’s voice drifted to her on a puff of magical wind and she immediately got to her feet. Balling Rin up in a dry kitchen towel, she belatedly realized as she shivered that they should have gotten out of their wet clothes the minute they were safe. Hypothermia was as dangerous as a sword in this era and as a child- despite the apparent hanyou status the wish had given her, Rin was more susceptible to it than she was. Never the less, a bath would have to wait for the moment. 

She hurried through the corridors, eyes flickering over the glimmering wooden walls with muted awe. Cautiously, she entered the foyer, not knowing who to expect. The aura seemed familiar but she was too exhausted to trust her instincts. 

A pair of violet eyes turned her way, widening in recognition and shock. “Kagome-san?!” 

Kagome gaped at him, struck still. She hadn't seen him since the wish, hadn't known he was still alive. 

“Kagome-san? How?” Miroku tried to twist towards her, mouth tightening before he stopped moving. He was severely injured, long sword-like slashes across his back bleeding sluggishly due to the cold. His lips were turning blue and he had icicles dripping down longer, shaggier hair. He looked far more unkempt than she had ever seen him. 

The raven-haired miko shook herself out of her daze, trying to stifle a smile from blooming over her wane features as she hurried to her old friend’s side. She had to remind herself that he may not be the same as he once had been. She knew all too well how the wish had changed her other companions. 

She brought her powers to the fore, bathing the entryway in a calming miko glow. Rin’s hands clutched her yukata as she healed his back and arm wounds. Color returned to his face, his breaths grew longer, less pained. Then, before he could speak again, she laid her pinky on his forehead, muttering the spells for truth and physical binding. She ignored his wide eyes and stood without wincing despite the complaints from her tired muscles. 

Naraku stepped back into the view of the now-healed monk, eyeing the tattered robes and the splintered edges of his staff. He tested Kagome’s truth spells and found them satisfactory as the monk watched warily. There was clear dislike in his gaze for the shadow hanyou. Time for the first question. “Do you work for the Inu no Taisho?” 

Miroku opened his mouth and croaked. He tried to lie again and released another strangled sound. Gaze appraising Kagome cautiously, he finally answered truthfully. “No.” 

“Do you conduct any business with the Inu no Taisho, his inner circle, or his court?” Naraku could literally feel Kagome’s anxiety as she stayed quiet behind his shoulder. He hoped, for her sake, that this monk proved true unlike her other former companions. “Do you personally benefit from any of the Inu no Taisho’s edicts? 

The dark-haired monk seemed insulted. “No. I have been traveling and aiding villages who are being harmed by Lord Toga’s and Prince Inuyasha’s ‘benevolent’ actions.” 

Ah, Naraku’s eyes narrowed. There was emotion here. Anger. He would be easier to manipulate if he was angry. Best to needle him. “Do you still maintain contact with Prince Inuyasha or Sango?” 

His eyes grew shuttered, a glimpse of rage shining deep before being covered in polite, cautious reserve. He glanced at the miko over the shadow hanyou’s shoulder, took in the way the small child clung to her, took in the silence of the hideaway around them. “No, I do not. We had a falling out a few months after the Shikon wish was made.” 

Naraku watched his gaze linger on Kagome and took a moment to think. According to his spies, the monk had almost died because of that falling out. His pride had been wounded by the demon huntress for sure. This human's power could make him a good ally… The dark-haired hanyou turned and raised an eyebrow at Kagome. She kept her expression carefully blank and her eyes trained on the monk. Perhaps, he should take a chance on the monk… as he had once suggested taking a chance on her to their Lord. He turned back to the monk when Kagome remained quiet. “Would you support a rebellion against the aforementioned parties?” 

Miroku looked at Kagome in surprise, a smile tugging at his mouth. “ _Yes_.” 

“Will you swear to Sesshoumaru Taisho’s name and symbol?” He heard Kagome shift behind him and reached back for the small truth serum vial she handed him. 

Miroku seemed to think about it, watching Kagome’s impassive face, gaze roving to the little girl clutching his friend’s leg, to Naraku standing tall over him. “You’re the head of the Rebellion, aren’t you? I’ve been looking for you for ages. Yes.” 

Naraku nodded to Kagome and she grinned ecstatically, practically pouncing on Miroku. The monk’s pained laugh echoed in the empty entryway. 

Naraku picked up Rin as they watched Kagome help her old friend to his feet, thinking. They wouldn’t require a blood oath of him until Sesshoumaru returned in a few hours. He would be back soon and they would be able to ask him to consider if Miroku could join the leadership team and household. Regardless of their previous status as enemies, his demeanor had rung true. He hated Inuyasha as much as they all did. It would make him a valuable ally. 

“Miroku-san! I’m so glad to see you! I thought Inuyasha’s stupid wish had made you disappear!” Kagome leaned back and broke the spells tying his tongue. Gods, he smelled terrible. 

Miroku hugged her back, for once uncaring that a scantily-clad, beautiful female was on his lap. “Kagome-san! I thought you were gone! Returned to your time! Where have you been?” 

Naraku broke in before their conversation could continue. “We will move to the study after bathing. I am sure some of my clothes will fit you, Miroku-san. Kagome and Rin will bring you a suitable set.” 

He handed Rin to Kagome. “I will stay here and watch for anyone else who makes it back tonight. You will have to stand guard while I bathe. Miroku-san will help you,” he pinned Miroku with his gaze; threatening him with dire consequences should he disobey. 

Miroku bowed, clearly puzzled by the dynamic between his old friend and former enemy but also clearly understanding that time and the wish had changed them all. He would save his questions for Kagome later, would go along with it for now. 

Kagome nodded, debating internally with herself, knowing how much trust he was putting in Miroku on her behalf. No one else would have gotten through their interrogation so easily. Throwing protocol to the four winds- after all, they had been sleeping together for the past few months, she hugged Naraku around the waist, nuzzling his chest. “Thank you.” 

He patted her on the top of her head, smirking at her playfully. “Go get dry, pretty, little human.” 

She glowered at the slur on her race, knowing he only-somewhat meant it. He laughed. 

Spinning on her heel, Kagome marched away grasping Rin’s and Miroku’s hands and ignoring Miroku’s shock for a time after Naraku had rested and could stand guard. The hanyou had used up a lot of energy in transporting the hideaway and was going to pass out as soon as he was allowed. 

She was more than astonished he was still standing after dispensing all that magic and was glad they had taken such care in putting the spells together to make the transition easier on him. 

The three bone-weary people trooped silently through the earthen corridors as Kagome led them to Sesshoumaru’s personal wing, gazes flitting over the multi-colored woods, the veins of pyrite and gemstones interspersed along their path. Candelabras crafted out of low-hanging root vines illuminated their way, magically flickering with white-green flames. Heated air came from underground vents, occasional spouts of steam filtering from small cracks in the walls. 

Gesturing for Miroku to wait outside Naraku’s door, Kagome and Rin went inside the elegant suite of rooms, side-stepping the ebony-wood furniture and amber-colored futon in the half-light. Rin selected a white double-layered kimono embroidered with mahogany and garnet waves for Miroku, Kagome picking a black sash. They handed the clothes to him as they stepped past him on the way to Kagome’s rooms. Rin plopped on the bed with a soundless sigh, letting go of Kagome’s hand as she entered one of her comfort zones. It was one of the only places where the child didn’t want to be holding onto one of the three she felt safe with. Kagome picked her up. “Come, Rin-chan. You’ll get the bed wet, sweeting. Help me pick a kimono.” 

Rin looked at her, eyes sleepy before toddling to Kagome’s wardrobe and waiting for Kagome to open the doors for her since she was too small to reach the handles. She perked up at the sight of the clothing, examining the colors hung before her carefully. Kagome smiled, having discovered that Rin liked dressing her three guardians a while ago. The four-year-old had a knack for coordinating designs and colors that would put a professional clothier to shame. Finally she selected a plain, dove gray kimono, the layers growing lighter the closer they got to Kagome’s skin. The obi was crimson brocade, silver dragons and griffins breathing golden fire and whirlwinds over the cloth; on the sleeve of the kimono twinkled a sapphire crescent moon surrounded by a crystal swirl of water. 

Kagome blinked away the sudden moisture in her eyes, momentarily getting lost in her memories. She had never been allowed to wear the symbol of the West, had never truly been included in the family in the weeks before they had started torturing her. Even her Shikon shard days had left her feeling excluded by the time stream difference, the strange looks sent her way because of her futuristic mannerisms. Sesshoumaru had commissioned a kimono for her that carried his symbol, declaring her a member of his household and unknowingly giving her the place she’d always been searching for in the past era. He couldn’t have known what it would mean to her; but, she silently thanked him for the gift anyway, hoping that he was alright. 

Kagome took the kimono in one hand and led the way out of her room, Rin grasping her yukata as soon as they stepped across the threshold. Miroku’s sharp gaze noticed the little girl’s actions and he frowned, brow furrowing in thought and suspicion. Kagome made him wait again as she walked into Sesshoumaru’s room with Rin, the little girl whimpering when she caught sight of her guardian's belongings. Kagome knelt down, stroking Rin’s cold hair. “Shh, Rin-chan. He’ll be alright.” 

Rin’s eyes remained fearful but a small spark of trust shone out at Kagome, causing her to smile widely. Rin was slowly healing from the years of cruelty under Inuyasha and Kikyou, slowly but surely. “Come. Let’s pick out a kimono for you, sweeting. We’re going to get sick if we don’t get out of these clothes soon.” 

Rin ran to one of the wardrobes standing along the far wall, the one with a small, messy drawing of flowers on it. Kagome opened the doors so that Rin could examine the clothes Sesshoumaru’s clothier had created for his Master’s ward. She took less time with her clothes, tugging on a pink kimono with charcoal obi. The obi had griffin and flying horses drifting through clouds of silver, the kimono embroidered with Sesshoumaru’s symbol on the right shoulder blade. Kagome took Rin’s hand and led the little girl out. 

“There are extra rooms in this corridor but I’m not sure Sesshoumaru-sama will allow you here. Until we get his approval I’ll show you to the Head Servants wing.” She led them past their usual bathing room, Rin looking at her curiously. She stopped before another set of shoji screen doors, the scent of warm, fragrant water drifting to them. “This is one of the bathing rooms. If you can’t find your way back, send me a will-o-the-wisp and I’ll come get you. The place is massive. It’ll take you a while to get used to it.” 

Miroku smiled at her, bowing. He had been observing the changes in her. The graceful, poised way she moved, the careful confidence in the way she had walked through the corridors. He wondered what had happened to her after the wish. Maybe those awful rumors hadn't been true. He hoped so. “I trust we will get to talk later?” 

She bowed back though not as low as he did, waiting until Rin had followed her lead. “We will talk once Naraku has rested. I’m sure our tales will take a long time in the telling.” 

He chuckled, brushing a hand on her cheek before going into the warm room. There was a spring to his step at having found a trustworthy friend after so many years; though, they were all too exhausted to be really excited about the prospect. 

Kagome whispered the tale of her Shikon adventure to Rin while they returned to their own bathing room, explaining her affection for Miroku simultaneously. The little girl listened though it was impossible to tell what she thought. Kagome paused in wonder as they entered the hot spring. The walls were no longer stone but dark brown wood, threads of glowing emerald shooting like lightening around the chamber. The root candles here sparkled like continuous golden fireflies, the shadows a soothing dark green. The water rippled under the weight of the numerous waterfalls, reflecting the lights in a merry dance. Rin clapped her hands, teeth chattering. She dashed out of her clothes and leapt into the pool while Kagome laid their kimono out in the dressing chamber to the side, absently noting that the carved screen separating the area remained the same. She flung her clothes on top of Rins’, quaking as the air hit her already numbing skin. 

Kagome slowly entered the water as Rin decided to see how long she could hold her breath. She dunked her head under, making a face at Rin before closing her eyes. She smiled as the ice crystals in her hair melted in the hot water, basking in the warmth. Emerging, she got out and went to the cabinet- carved with dancing gypsies and packs of dogs, to obtain their jasmine-scented soap. 

Once they were clean, Kagome towel-dried their hair, combing Rins’ out and braiding her own. They left their dirty clothes on the floor, neither one knowing where the servants took them to be cleaned. Seeing no will-o-the-wisp outside, Kagome carried Rin back to the kitchens. Naraku was sitting by the fire as one of the apprentice cooks finished serving hot tea. He looked up as they came in, refraining from getting up until he’d finished his tea, shivering as the ice in his hair melted in trails down his shoulders. 

“Arano,” Kagome said, naming the young man waiting quietly in the background, “go change out of those clothes and get some rest. If we need something we’ll summon you. We will be covering for the guards before they return.” 

The blond male bowed, smiling gratefully. “Thank you, Kagome-sama.” 

Miroku came in as Arano left. He sank down onto a cushion next to Kagome as she handed him a tea cup. “Was he the only one who has returned to this… place?” 

Naraku nodded. “More should be coming soon. You,” he said referring to Miroku, “will physically incapacitate them. Kagome will interrogate them and check their blood for their identity. Anyone who does not pass the test is to be bound in the foyer. Should such an event occur, wake me up. They will have to be dealt with immediately.” 

Kagome nodded. They couldn’t allow anyone untrustworthy inside their headquarters. “Go bathe. Sleep. I’ll wake you in a few hours.” 

He squeezed Kagome’s shoulder and nuzzled Rin’s cheek, picking her up. “Come with me, Rin-chan. You and I will take a nap.” 

Kagome expanded her senses to cover their entire hideaway, settling into her cushions comfortably. Her eyes twinkled as they fell on Miroku. “So, my erstwhile monk friend, have you gotten some poor woman to bear you a child yet?” 

He blushed. “I’ve been traveling, wandering and assisting those in need like I did before the Shikon hunt. I met Sango a couple of times.” 

She kept her shoulders from stiffening, her expression pleasant; but, it took effort. Her days away from Court had made her lose the fine touch of lying with her eyes and body. “She’s changed.” 

He nodded, gaze sad as he looked into the fire. “She’s changed too much. She’s just another one of Inuyasha’s pawns now. She almost killed me for saying something bad about him.” 

Kagome put her hand on his, sensing the pain of his heart’s loss. “She…once watched while something very bad happened to me, didn’t even lift a finger to help. I’m still not sure what story they told her.” 

Miroku, ever observant, noticed the shadows in his friend’s eyes and his mouth tightened. “I’d heard stories about Inuyasha’s Pet. I didn’t think-” 

She visibly tensed, busying herself with pouring more tea. 

“You?” His voice was infinitely gentle. Had she looked up she would have realized he knew she’d been tortured. His face was a mask of controlled rage. 

She nodded, squeaking when he hauled her into a hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Miroku muttering about imbecile hanyou’s, betrayal, cruelty and dishonor. He cursed Inuyasha soundly for a long time while Kagome smiled into his shoulder, simply listening to the only one of her previous friends who had remained the same. 

She pushed him away as she felt three auras enter the foyer, one of which was faltering. “There’re three here.” 

A thought brought her bow and arrows to her hands. Miroku led the way, broken staff- absent of its rings now, in his hands. He peered at them behind the illusion protecting the hallway to their refuge and shook his head at Kagome. He could take them alone. Despite what Naraku had said, the ease with which they continued to work like the team they had been in the past was too familiar to shake off. 

Kagome recognized three of the men-at-arms for their hideaway and gasped when Miroku knocked each one to his knees, binding them motionless with well-placed sutras. Stepping out of the protective spells, she smiled at the three before placing the truth spells on their tongues and asking them a long list of questions. Miroku’s eyebrows rose as he realized how easily they had allowed him in. Kagome took a drop of each man’s blood afterwards, eyes glowing silver as she analyzed their identity and the bonds that tied them to her Lord. 

They all passed and she ordered them to rest for five hours before reporting back to her, recalling from one of her old text books that five hours was the bare minimum amount of sleep needed in order to function properly. They bowed and disappeared once she’d helped them connect themselves to the hideaway. They would have to take care of their own wounds for the time being. She would set up a healing ward as soon as their healers and two other miko returned. 

In the momentary silence, she stopped Miroku before he could turn to go back to the kitchens. More were coming. She could feel the tread of their feet on the earth exactly one league above their heads and slightly to the northeast. 

Hopefully, one of them was Sesshoumaru. The sooner he returned, the better off she, Naraku and Rin would be. He had become their comfort, their warmth and protection, his absence was already making them uneasy. 

~*~


	6. Chapter 6

_Remember, Remember the Fifth of November,_  
_The gunpowder, treason and plot._  
_I know of no reason the gunpowder treason_  
_Should ever be forgot._  
_-V for Vendetta_

VI-

 _Two weeks later…_

Kagome woke with a shriek in her throat, mouth clamping shut so that it couldn’t escape. Her chest heaved as she gasped into her pillow, desperately hoping that the small child curled up next to her didn't notice. The nightmares had been worse the past two weeks, partially because of her recent encounter with Kikyou and partially because Naraku and Sesshoumaru hadn’t slept with herself and Rin since the attack. 

Naraku because he was busy. Sesshoumaru because he hadn’t returned. 

_Yet._ Sesshoumaru hadn’t returned yet. Kagome forced herself to keep her hope alive. Surely if he had been captured or killed they would have heard of it by now. It wasn’t an occurrence that Toga would want to keep to himself. Nor Inuyasha. No. They would broadcast the information to the far corners of the lands, inspiring fear and unease in the hearts of their subjects. They thrived on the fear, the terror and pain of their victims. Shuddering, Kagome diverted the path of her thoughts. 

Surprisingly, most of their people had returned alive and whole, a few had been injured in the eruption or fighting and their healers had bandaged them up as soon as their loyalty had been established. Miroku had proved himself immeasurably valuable, having improved his healing skills over the course of his travels and covering for Kagome when she was tired. He had also allowed Kagome to assist Naraku by taking over the running of the household. Both of them had been swamped with work, information flooding in from their allies and spies at a rate they could barely keep up with. Kagome’s mage network hadn’t been formed yet so their work was slightly less strenuous than it should have been. 

She wasn't entirely sure if that was a good or bad thing and was truthfully still too tired to think about it clearly. She removed the pillow from her face and took a few deep breaths, noting how their new hideaway smelled like earth. It was quieter too; the sound of the sea was gone from her ears. As strange as it had been, their old quarters had become her home. She rubbed her eyes and redirected her thoughts. She couldn't afford nostalgia. Not now. Not until this war was over. 

Despite the numerous, _tons_ of reports that they had gone through- Naraku’s network of spies was massive, the most vital piece of information was the one missing. No one knew where Sesshoumaru was. He should have been one of the first to return to the hideaway and yet he was two weeks late. The possibilities for his delay were endless ranging from exhaustion to injury to capture, none of which were good. He was the head and heart of the revolution. Without him they had no one to rally around. Toga would keep control of the lands, would eventually take over all of Japan and would suck the life and joy from its people with his idiotic taxes and Machiavellian view on the status quo. 

Kagome sighed, cradling her head in her hands and attempting to calm her racing heartbeat, pulse thudding in her veins. She was more than a little bit worried about the Taiyoukai who had taken her into his care. He was always on the back of her mind; when she was reading reports, writing reports, giving reports, giving orders, listening to agents or household staff, healing, interrogating… She allowed herself for all of a heartbeat to realize that probably meant something she was terrified to acknowledge. 

“Kagome-sama!” Isabella’s far away shout had her leaping out of bed, hastily adjusting her black sleeping yukata and running out the door in her slippers, indigo over robe haphazardly being put on. Her hand maiden never raised her voice unless it was an emergency. Rin followed, whimpering at her difficulty with keeping up and being swept up and cuddled by Kagome in the process. Isabella met them half-way down the staircase, gasping. “Kagome-sama, Sesshoumaru-sama is in the foyer. He’s injured.” 

Kagome and Rin were gone before she had finished her sentence, the blue-eyed miko running flat out down the twisting corridors. She put Rin down when she got into the foyer, barely noticing when the crowd of servants and soldiers parting for her. Her heart shook when she took in his appearance. Someone had brought him a chair and there was a small puddle of blood forming around his dirtied boots. Kneeling in front of Sesshoumaru, she brought the fire of her magic to bathe her hands in a golden glow. The noise in the small corridor dimmed as Kagome healed the numerous wounds decorating his body. Some were half-healed already, some appeared new, and all were scented with the acidic undertone of Toga's sickly-sweet poison. 

Sesshoumaru had faced and escaped from his sire; the thought alone made her shiver. 

When the glow had faded from her hands, she leaned back on her ankles, tired from the constant exertion and lack of rest. Rin tugged at her sleeve, silently begging and Kagome shook her head, no. Permission refused, the little girl clutched her sleeve and looked up at her father figure as he straightened his clothes, his face impassive. Ignoring the hands held out in aid, the daiyoukai rose on his own power as Naraku took a post at his shoulder, beginning to report the goings-on of the past two weeks. The silver-haired taiyoukai only paused to grasp Kagome’s wrist and tug her along behind them when it looked like she was content with remaining on the foyer floor comforting Rin. He looked exhausted; his clothing ripped and stained, eyes shuttered and dull. 

As Taiyoukai, he was required to give off the image of being infallible, reliable in even the most dire of circumstances. He never failed his people in anything, least of all in comforting them with his strength. If Kagome had cared to notice, she would have observed the looks of awe and adoration in the eyes of the staff and soldiers not just for him... but also for her. 

She signaled for Mahiko to bring them coffee in the study before she kept following them, carrying Rin with her on her hip. Upon entering their study, she let Rin down and gestured to the girl's pillow besides Sesshoumaru's. Her pulse quickened at the sound of his quiet conversation with Naraku, as he picked up Rin and calmed the small girl, as her relief turned into adrenaline. She tried to still her shaking, abruptly realizing how worried she had been for the inu youkai. She had no idea when he had become so important to her that his loss would bleed her soul like a knife to her heart. The thought scared her even more and she clutched the sleeves of her outer kimono in an attempt to warm the cold settling in her veins. Her eyes were burning. Oh, gods, she hated crying. 

A hard arm pulled her into a snow-scented, blood-scented wet chest and she wrapped her arms around his waist, glad that he couldn’t see her face and discern the reason for her upset. The last male who knew she cared for him had made her miserable. Mentally, she knew Sesshoumaru was nothing like Inuyasha; but, it was difficult to fight off the instinctive, paranoid reactions she had developed over the past few years as his plaything. 

“My father tracked me himself, using blood spells to recognize his poison in my wounds. He managed to ambush me twice and I was almost captured the second time; however, I broke Inuyasha's spine and he chose instead to tend to him. I was able to kill the rest of the men he sent after me and return here without any shadows." The explanation of his long absence did little to put them at ease. Still, he had returned, alive and with her healing, he would be whole. "Naraku, you have been doing an exemplary job of running things these last few weeks and I must ask you to continue. I am sorely in need of some rest as,” their inuyoukai Lord bent his head, his voice rumbling at the residual scent of her fear, “is Kagome.” 

Naraku nodded, stifling a yawn and blearily gazing at the papers stacked neatly all along the desks and pillows as Isabella set a tray on a small stand by the door. “Actually, I think the only thing I need to do at the moment is review the latest reports. I will join both of you in a few moments.” 

Sesshoumaru made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat, as he turned and walked towards the spiral staircase leading up to their rooms, voicing the spell word that would grant them entry into their personal hallway. Kagome remained beneath the curve of his arm, tears having dried, shaking lessened. 

He set both females of his household down on Kagome’s futon, pausing for a moment to breathe in their scents, grateful that he was able to. There had been times over the past weeks when he had believed himself finished; but, he had kept going, refusing to give his father the satisfaction of his death. In those quiet moments of hiding, he had thought of his people, his men and… the three he now considered his pack. “Stay here. I will return as soon as I have bathed and destroyed my clothes.” 

Rin nodded, eyes wide and shimmering with tears; but, she let him go, clutching Kagome’s waist. He was surprised by the amount of change in the little girl. She was healing if she was able to let him go so quickly after not seeing him for so long. The thought made him smile. 

He bathed quickly and when he returned, he found the flames in the fireplace dimmed, Rin doodling with her small ink and paper set, and Kagome pulling out more blankets from a trunk across the room. Without warning he pulled Kagome onto the futon, eyes already closed, molding her curves against the tired frame of his body as had become his habit. He sensed Rin put away her chalkboard and curl up against his back, moko-moko-sama wrapping around his girl. Naraku would sleep on Rin’s other side, his favorite quilt covering both himself and whoever he was cuddling with that night. 

Kagome sighed and tucked her head beneath his chin, hands clutching the silk of his yukata as she drifted off, breath evening. Neither noticed when Naraku tiptoed in, shifted into the form of a large panther and collapsed by Rin, wiggling beneath his quilt, tail twining around Sesshoumaru’s ankle. That the silver-haired Lord was able to sleep through the other male coming into his personal space showed the measure of his trust in the three around him. 

They were pack, despite once being enemies. 

Rin sleepily opened her eyes to check on them, smiling before turning around and falling asleep once more. Unbeknownst to her, her hands started to glow slightly in her sleep. 

~*~ 

All three adults woke to the sweet, lonely sound of a wooden flute shivering hauntingly through the air. The melody, deceptively simple, played so beautifully it brought tears to Kagome’s eyes, wove into their auras like a thread. They listened, half-asleep as they were bound, spell-struck by this ancient, unfamiliar tune, wrapped in the comfort of each other’s presence. 

They almost didn’t notice that the song originated from the little girl sleeping peacefully curled in Naraku’s body against Sesshoumaru’s back, that the power behind the spell was enough to give all of them pause. She was glowing gently, a light green reminiscent of her adopted father's poison and flowers were beginning to bloom from the root tendrils drifting with wil o' the wisps over their heads. 

Kagome smiled against Sesshoumaru’s neck as she felt those closest to them in the hideaway stop and listen. She wasn't quite sure how but she could feel them recognize the strength of the household they served. She could feel their trust in their chosen Lord grow, trust that they had not joined a hopeless mission and that they were fighting for a touchable future. 

Her silver-haired lord nuzzled her hair as the melody faded, the last strains echoing against the grains of wood along the walls, causing the flickering flames to sparkle like amethysts in the presence of stars. The golden glow around Rin faded until her skin looked normal once more. To his amusement, his girl simply shifted onto her other side, quite unaware of what she had just done. 

“We have to get up,” Kagome whispered, eyes still closed. “The staff will be going insane with the work by now.” 

Naraku purred, lulling Rin back to sleep when the girl began to fidget at the sound of Kagome's voice. “Miroku is capable of dealing with any non-major issues for the next few hours. If there is anything urgent, they will send a messenger and wake us up. Go back to sleep. We need the rest.” 

Sesshoumaru chuckled softly before yawning, fangs glinting in the wane light. “She is already asleep.” 

An amused rumble vibrated through the futon from Naraku before they both fell back into the land of dreams, joining their companions and ignoring the reality of the work piling up for them a touch longer. 

Their new bond was a pleasant hum in their veins, an awareness of each other and their people that was comforting. Sesshoumaru knew there was a power to it, an echo of earthquakes and storms that could be the turning point of the rebellion. 

He wrapped his claws in Kagome's hair and adjusted her just a touch. They would explore Rin's magic later after they had rested. 

~*~ 

_Three months later…_

Kagome growled in the back of her throat as another villager was brought before her, wishing to join the elite forces of the rebellion when it was obvious that he had absolutely no previous experience with a spear, much less a sword. Only half-listening to the skills he presented in a long, unqualifying, repetitive list, she continued with the report she was writing for Sesshoumaru’s Fleet Commander, raven hair tumbling in silken waves over her shoulder. Really, the elite forces were hand-trained by Sesshoumaru and Naraku. Why did so many men think they could just join them without previous military training? 

“My lady, please. There is little time if I am to join them for their journey to the new training grounds.” She looked up to see him stepping impertinently closer to her desk, unaware that the white flames of the sconces made her eyes sparkle like gemstones, cast hauntingly beautiful shadows over the aristocratic planes of her face. 

The petite miko straightened her shoulders, quill poised in her hand over the parchment, the embroidered crimson silk of her kimono sleeves pushed up to her elbows. An eyebrow rose when the skinny male before her gazed, open-mouthed at the pale skin of her wrist. His eyes moved up her hand, past her cloth-covered breasts, to the creamy skin of her neck, finally coming to rest on her mouth. She waited for him to gather himself, power beginning to thrum through her veins with anger as the seconds ticked by. Her quill was laid on the desk with infinite gentleness, sleeves sliding down to her knuckles. His eyes followed the movement. 

Kagome waited a few more minutes for him, politely reigning in her temper at being ogled like a mare at the market rather than embarrass the poor kid. She only noticed Jaken when the little toad slammed his staff into the back of the young man’s knees, knocking him flat onto the floor. 

“Show some respect, scoundrel! We are not the Inu no Taisho’s men to allow such disgrace into our elite forces. The Lady Kagome is too kind to point out your idiocy; but, I am not. Eyes where they are supposed to be when addressing my Lady.” Jaken’s voice, as nasally and obnoxious as always, held a depth of warning that Kagome had never heard before. Sesshoumaru’s faithful retainer was genuinely angry on her behalf at the young man. Her mouth barely remained closed as the male gaped at the little toad. “And close your mouth.” 

His mouth snapped shut with an audible click. 

“Good. Now present your case in a more respectful manner, lout.” Jaken waddled back behind Sesshoumaru. 

Kagome blinked when she saw him, the ever-imposing, silver-haired, deadly Taiyoukai whose appearance always made her pulse quicken. She hadn’t noticed him enter the study, hadn’t _felt_ him enter the study- a side-effect of their newly created bond, and she sighed to think of her tired state. The rebellion had picked up in the past months since Sesshoumaru’s return. Toga and Inuyasha had been scouring villages for the elusive ex-heir to the Western Lands. Now, they were fighting growing distaste of Sesshoumaru as well as fueling the growing distaste of the current Lord. At the moment, society of all levels were even in their opinions of the two despite Naraku’s pack of spies doing their best to spread evil rumors of Toga’s history and current actions. If the public began to hate Sesshoumaru along with Toga, they would have a far more difficult time in obtaining the support of Western citizens when the time came for the people to choose sides. 

Three village headmen were dead for not having given up the location of Sesshoumaru’s hideaway, even though they were completely innocent. Countless more had been murdered in the name of treason and disobedience. People were becoming too scared to speak freely about political issues, making their jobs harder and easier. Many people were joining the Sesshoumaru’s cause in small, random acts of defiance against Toga’s edicts. Some would drink spiced tea, a novelty from the East that had been banned due to a slight against Izayoi at an international rulership gathering. Some were carving Sesshoumaru’s symbol in small ways around their homes or shops. Many were sending their sons into the forest, knowing that certain tricksy paths would lead them to the hideaway and consequently, the rebel army- like the boy before her. 

Many were becoming close-mouthed, breaking off friendships with anyone suspected of relation with the rebels. 

Kagome drifted out of her thoughts when she felt a slight tug at her aura. She blinked, frowning when a pair of sock clad feet came into view. Her gaze traveled up a crimson kimono, embroidered with waves of silver beaded sand to rest on the amused eyes of her Lord. Her mouth quirked up in response. “Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?” 

“Answer the _boy_ ,” he placed a slight emphasis on the word, glancing back at the cowering man and surprising Kagome once again. He was furious, hands curled, calf muscles tense, furious. “You and I have work to do, my _Lady_ ,” said again with an emphasis on the last word, reminding the man of the vast differences in their status. 

The man flinched. He had been embarrassingly remiss in his behavior and he had shamed his family and himself. 

She nodded while he lowered himself next to her, handing him a finished stack of reports and serving him jasmine tea. The man fidgeted while she attended to her Lord’s comfort, waiting for her to give him the answer he hoped to hear. 

Kagome turned to him after a moment, smiling at Jaken momentarily in silent thanks to the little toad for his earlier assistance. “Thank you for coming to join the rebellion. Those in the Elite Forces first begin by training in different units to obtain the required military experience. Mattimeo, the Head Guard, will show you where to be fitted for the appropriate uniform. With hard work and dedication you may be able to join the Elite Forces. If you attempt to betray us in any way, shape or form, you will find that the blood oath you took to Lord Sesshoumaru will be invoked. You will turn to ash from the inside out.” 

The man’s eyes widened in incredulity, he opened his mouth. 

“We appreciate your desire to assist us with the movement. Mattimeo, if you would escort him to the Northern Wing,” Sesshoumaru cut him off, voice frosty. “Kagome, find Isabella and get some snow drop tea, please. Where is Rin?” 

Kagome rose slowly, wincing when her sleeping legs protested. “Rin’s napping with Raku. He’ll be going fishing at nightfall.” 

“Hmm?” Sesshoumaru had his nose in the palm of her hand, inhibiting her from leaving and getting the calming tea. He had found that her scent was ten times better than any tea. He had been shocked and enraged to note the disrespect the lout had given her by ogling at her like he would a common geisha after he had made it absolutely clear as to her importance and station… regardless of the fact that she was worth a stare or two. Rin was excellent at dressing her packmates. 

“Remember the undersea attack on the Northern Fleet tonight? The sea-youkai special attack unit is going to cut the wood and destroy the docks. No symbol will be left- ‘a mark of the Kamis’ disfavor of Toga.’ So shall the rumors be spread. People are already wondering whether or not they like him, this will reinforce their doubts.” Kagome tugged her hand away, hiding her discomfort behind an amused smile. She still hadn’t gotten completely used to kind male attention. “Mattimeo’s leading them and Isabella’s going to take over his duties for the night. Ohano’s on call for listening, right? We’ll need his bat ears at the tree line.” 

Sesshoumaru nodded, picking up the first report and growling lowly at the flimsy parchment. He knew the sound would cheer her up, having noted the tension singing through her veins at his actions. Inwardly, he sighed and soundly cursed his filthy, hanyou brother for harming her so badly. 

Kagome laughed at his reaction to reading more reports, the sound husky and innocently alluring. 

He smiled in reply, glad that the study was empty- for once, watching as Kagome walked tiredly towards the large double doors, her hips swaying with an unconscious grace not common in the nobility of his era. After she had closed the doors behind her, he took a moment to take stock of his thoughts. He could not believe he had allowed himself to become a source of amusement for a miko. _His_ miko, he reminded himself, attempting to salvage the frayed threads of his Taiyoukai pride. As pack, she was entitled to certain liberties with his person and her wellbeing was his to take care of. Physically and mentally. 

His miko returned moments later with Isabella bearing a tray of snow drop tea. She served him the tea herself, gesturing for Isabella to dispense of the unused tray. “Don’t let those go to waste, Isabella. If no one here wants them send them with one of Naraku’s men to a village. Who’s coming with me to recruit my first mage?” 

He looked up from the survey reports, gaze roving over her silk-covered form. He would have to slowly get her used to this kind of attention; both he and Naraku would. After all, she would be a coveted bride after the rebellion since she was a member of his household, intelligent and beautiful. She would need to get used to males again without dwelling on the memories of her past. Kagome fidgeted under his gaze. “Who do you think, little miko?” 

“One of you and perhaps those two espionage agents Naraku was talking about? I know we’re too busy for you both to come with me and Rin would cry.” She sat next to him, frowning when he chuckled at her look of resigned annoyance towards the stack of scrolls in front of her. She frowned at him. "You get to read interesting reports. _These _," she gestured to the stack, "are scrolls on court behavior changes. Yesterday, there was an entire page on what people wore to Lady Yukina's art party."__

__He tilted her chin up, smile widening into a grin when her scent turned vaguely spicy, pleased that he was still able to turn her thoughts despite their constant close contact. “Forget the scrolls. Do you think we would let you wander around the wilderness to speak with potentially volatile mages with just the guards?”_ _

__She glared at him, instantly defensive of their men. “They were hand-picked and trained by you and Naraku! What do you mean _just the guards_?” She mimicked his condescending tone perfectly, growing more annoyed the wider his grin got. _ _

__Once he deduced that her silence was about to break beneath the pressure of her anger at his arrogance, he kissed her on the forehead and laughed silently as she instantly deflated, mountain-top-blue eyes confused. “You are far too important to leave with anyone but the both of us until this little rebellion has been cleaned up.”_ _

__She lowered her gaze for a moment, thinking and he wondered at the slight point of her ears. Had they always had a slight point? Had the jewel changed her blood as well?_ _

__“Since when has this rebellion been little? Have you seen these papers? And the people running around here?” She settled back onto her cushion, resignedly opening a scroll on court life. "Still, we're a team. We can't all be doing the same thing at the same time. It's not an effective use of our time and resources."_ _

__He laughed, unable to help himself from responding to the amused annoyance in her tone. A quick glance over her head showed the scroll was about comb design. “Rin, Naraku, and Miroku all agree that you should be protected by your pack and no one else." When she lifted her head to argue, he stilled her words with a claw to her mouth. "It is our right, Kagome.”_ _

__To that she had nothing to say as he knew she would not. After a moment of staring up at him, she returned her attentions to the reports. He waited until she raised an eyebrow at him to tend to his own._ _

__Her hair was curling today and it looked quite soft to the touch. He would have to check later that evening to see if his assessment was correct._ _

__~*~_ _


	7. Chapter 7

Author’s Note: The wish changed Rin to a younger age in my storyline. Just in case anyone was wondering. Also, I had previously taken down my stories due to some issues; however, after a few wonderful readers reached out, I decided to repost most of them. I am editing them as I go along so while the basic plot is the same, hopefully it reads just a touch better. 

Best,  
Penny32

Land and sea, weakness and decline are the great separators, but death is the great divorcer for forever. – John Keats 

VII- 

Kagome scrubbed behind her ears with their soap as she kept half-an-eye on Rin, making sure the girl wasn’t going to try and jump from waterfall to waterfall without assistance. Satisfied, she rinsed and lay back against the shelves created for their basking pleasure beneath the waters. He had called her pack. Pack- a concept that she had always been exempt from. Something that defined her, made her a valuable asset in someone’s eyes- their eyes, made her feel respected and loved, cherished. 

She hadn’t felt like that in years, ever since her twenty-second trip down the well when Kikyou had been brought back to her half-life. With a start, she realized there was moisture in her eyes. A small hand reached up and wiped it away, Rin’s large, golden eyes looking up at her worriedly. Kagome sniffed as more tears trailed down her cheeks, smiling tremulously at the child and kissing her on the forehead. “I’m fine, Rin-chan. I’m…” she paused, wondering. She was healing. 

“I don’t think the nightmares are going to bother me anymore, Rin-chan.” 

The little girl- five years old in a week, smiled widely, nodding. She’d already known that. 

~*~ 

Kagome shifted in Sesshoumaru’s hold, widening her stance and forcing her cold fingers to form a triangle above her navel through the push of heavy elemental magic. She felt lethargic, her breath coming in short pants as the influence of the rogue mage’s protective spells started working on her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t put a shield around their company to negate the spells elsewise the mage would sense Sesshoumaru’s crackling, youki-filled presence and flee before they could speak with him. 

The mage they were attempting to recruit was wily, cautious, paranoid and powerful. He wanted nothing to do with the Inu no Taisho’s war and had maintained a very carefully-cultivated, harmless hedge-witch façade to keep the Inu no Taisho’s men away from him. He had even- Kagome had been told by a cackling Naraku, dressed as a woman for the past few months. 

It would take some skill to convince him of the benefit of joining their revolution. Sesshoumaru had deemed that Naraku would try first; but, if the swell of magic shifting in the hut was any indication, things were not going well. 

“Relax, Kagome. He’ll be fine,” Sesshoumaru purred in her ear as his hold around her waist tightened, pressing her back against the line of his body to keep her warm in the frigid air. His navy blue- colored cloak shifted around her to add an extra layer of cloth between her and the snowy wind. His power flared around her own, a gentle buffet of heat against the sparkle of her own magic. 

Kagome fought back her reaction to his breath on her sensitive skin, somehow ignoring the masculine smugness she sensed when he caught on to her distraction. She sought to steer the conversation to a safer topic. “We step out of the trees when he comes out, right?” 

This time, he spoke against the curve of her neck, his lips a hair’s breadth from her skin. “After the guards check the area one last time.” 

She shivered, her fur trimmed cloak reflecting violet rainbows on the icy ground. He was doing this on purpose, using the strength of his hands and the line of his body to draw her thoughts away from the task at hand. One would have thought she would have been used to it by now, what with the sleeping together every night. A blush stole onto the bridge of her nose and she mumbled into the fur lining her hood, trying to be quiet so their guards wouldn’t hear. “Stop it.” 

He laughed lowly, rumbling and letting his nose drift across the top of her head, inhaling her fragrance. “Where is that famed patience all of our men speak of, my little miko?” 

She snorted softly, leaning into him when Naraku’s aura calmed somewhat. The swell of magic in the hut faded. “Me? Patient?” 

The wind picked up around them, making her shiver. Suddenly he stilled and they both focused on the door. Naraku appeared, grinning in their direction, unharmed and as cocky as ever. He seemed cheerful and they both had to wonder how much he had irritated their current quarry. “Come on, kiddies,” he called out. 

Kagome smiled at him, waiting until Loki, panther youkai Captain of the unit created for her own personal use- even though she’d tried to explain she didn’t need her own military unit, had given them the all-clear signal before stepping out. Sesshoumaru let her go and walked one pace ahead of her, body moving with such smoothness that none would have mistaken the terrible danger he represented. Few failed to notice that it was only the little priestess’ presence that was the basis for his demeanor. Normally, he was quite laidback on these excursions, trusting his men as he trusted his own shadow. They smiled to see his protective nature brought to the fore, some of the older ones glad that the male they had served for so long had finally found himself a worthy pack; perhaps a worthy mate? 

Naraku entered after Sesshoumaru and Kagome as their men set up an invisible perimeter, half of them melting into the surrounding ground, snow or air and the other half perching in the trees. For a moment, Kagome paused, turning to see how well her invisibility cloaks had fared in the surroundings. A pleased smile curved her mouth, causing the disguised mage in the hut to do a double take when she faced him. 

“She’s the head of your magical front?” Dressed in a tattered old gown, he wasted no time on niceties. 

Loki growled and stalked forward, tail whipping agitatedly behind him. “Be respectful towards my Lady, sir.” 

He remained silent, evaluating the petite woman before him with his gaze. When he spoke he drawled, cultured and cunning. It made her instantly wary of him. “You’re the Shikon miko.” 

Her eyes closed momentarily, lashes forming dark fans along her smooth cheeks. “Was. The Jewel of Four Souls no longer resides in this world. It has returned to its seat of power- where it belongs.” 

He shook out his half-gray unkempt curls, belatedly seeming to realize that he probably stank to the youkai in the room. Kagome was pleased to note that he had the grace to get a little pink around the ears. He would need rudimentary manners for what they had planned for him. He looked around his small, homely hut, knowing they were watching him and waiting for his answer, knowing that his future was tenuous at best based on his choice. “You will require a blood oath from me to…?” 

Naraku stepped forward. “The blood oath will be given to Lord Sesshoumaru but you will answer to Lady Kagome.” 

“Kagome? The woman Prince Inuyasha has been searching for? You were his pet?” His muddy green eyes widened in shock. She saw dawning horror before he masked his expression. Kagome inwardly flinched at the momentary pity though she was pleased with his ability to gather information. 

He knew her true history. 

Three low, vicious growls halted his mouth. Sesshoumaru curled an arm around her waist as Loki once more spoke. “You will speak to her with respect.” 

The mage remained silent, re-evaluating the woman standing before him. She had not flinched at his thoughtless questions, even now met his stare with her own. He had heard the stories of her situation- the real ones, not the flowery ones planted by the Inu no Taisho’s spies to incur the respect of the people and was surprised at her appearance. She was not what he imagined a victim of that horrible family to look like. Calm, capable, and soft-spoken, she was everything these men fought for. He could see it in the way they followed their overlords. 

The panther was ready to kill him for his disrespect of her. 

After all that he had seen of the world, he knew that there were very few who could inspire such loyalty in others. The Inu no Taisho was not one of those few. Unlike the Inu no Taisho’s men, there was no sense of underlying fear and chaos in this company. They walked with pride in themselves and their cause, not the presumptuous, fearful greed the Western soldiers had been displaying lately. 

He glanced around his small cottage once more before he swept back his threadbare cloak with a flourish and bowed to her, then kneeled before the silver-haired male she followed. To her amusement, he took off his wig and wiped at the rouge staining his mouth. “My real name is Gaston Katagana, Lady Kagome. The Archives have a false name.” 

She laughed. “Yes, we know. There were quite a few discrepancies in your history, Gaston-san. Luckily, you were willing to be found by a worthy adversary.” 

He looked up at that, unable to disguise his shock before grinning. “Aye, Lady. A worthy adversary you turned out to be if you could find me through all of those traps.” 

She smiled as Loki stepped up, a dagger in his hand and irritation in his gaze. He didn’t like the new mage any more than her pack mates. “I am glad, Gaston-san, that you are willing to aid us in this rebellion. Know that your blood will-“ 

“-turn to fire and ash in my veins should I betray the Lord Sesshoumaru or his Shadow Hand in any way shape or form. Am I right in assuming betraying you is the same as betraying them?” The middle-aged human’s eyes twinkled mirthfully at the light blush that arose on her nose and cheeks. 

The Inu Lord and his Shadow Hand were not pleased at his teasing. Naraku, nicknamed the Shadow Hand by ally and enemy alike, stepped forward, glaring as Loki cut his palm. A droplet of Sesshoumaru’s blood from a vial around his neck sealed the wound and his chanted oath. “Betray her, and you will suffer before Lord Sesshoumaru allows the blood oath to take you. Understood?” 

Gaston bowed to her. “I would not betray a Lady so cunning as to see through my tricks, this I vow. Nor one so beautiful.” 

Kagome having turned even more pink, laid a restraining hand on Naraku’s arm, frowning when growls once again erupted from her companions. “Thank you, Gaston-san. Please, pack your things so that we may be on our way.” 

Sesshoumaru turned to lead her out of the dwelling, calling over his shoulder as he went. “We shall see how loyal you may become as we travel to the Ikani Peninsula to retrieve our next sorcerer. Until then you do not have our trust- even the Lady’s.” 

Kagome huffed when he ignored her elbow in his side, irritated at their over-protective attitude. Yes, she understood that certain ways of speaking were the height of disrespect in this era but if the man was to be her future right-hand, he should have been allowed to get away with it. She sighed when her inuyoukai lord merely tucked her into his side and formed his cloud under their feet, waiting for Naraku to climb on so that they could fly through the forest without leaving tracks. Their men flitted around them, perching on undisturbed snow-laden branches and running on air streams close by, ever vigilant, leaving no mark in the forest that could be traced back to them. 

Sesshoumaru had trained them well with the tricks he had learned while running from his father. 

“Kagome, did you know that Inuyasha and Kikyou have been fighting lately? Do you have any ideas on how to get their servants to talk about it and spread some rumors on the discord of the ‘harmonious, powerful family of the West’? My internal spies have all the information, I just don’t know what to do with it.” Naraku shifted on the cloud so that he was taking the brunt of the cold air flow, his white cloak flowing behind him. 

“You’d have to get them to talk at the same time. They would feel safe in the assurance that the Inu no Taisho does not dare to kill them all. It would look too much like he was keeping a secret from his court and they would rebel. Although, I don’t know if that would work- Toga’s crazy. Perhaps you could steal Kikyou’s and Izayoi’s jewelry? Who do you think they would blame first? And who would they turn on? Their servants will only take so much abuse before they turn on their masters.” She looked up at him, a cruel touch to the corner of her mouth. “Or you could amplify the sounds so that the entire palace heard their embarrassing truth; but, the man you send would have to be very careful.” 

“We arrive, my Lords, my Lady. Please, wait here while we confer with the two scouts already in place.” Loki drifted up next to them on a wind current and then disappeared at Naraku’s nod. 

Kagome waited tensely as Naraku went through the doors of the Griffin Inn to speak with the mage. Sesshoumaru frowned, noticing the small crowd of people milling around the street, pairs of eyes flitting from the Inn to their companions and back. Whispers abounded, worry lining intelligent faces and all eyes kept flitting back to the door Naraku had just stepped through. Their guards shifted nervously. 

They realized something was wrong, so wrong in fact that Sesshoumaru broke protocol and called one of their guards over to them right before Naraku roared. 

Kagome squeaked and kept her hands free as Sesshoumaru ran inside with her, placing a barrier around the pair of them and the four guards that Loki had ordered to go with them. As soon as she was put down, the little miko ran towards the pile of crumpled white velvet shivering on the ground next to another pile of tangled limbs and crushed, green wool. 

“Ayame?” Her voice came out aghast as she got a good look at the once lively wolf demoness that had chased after her old friend for so long. There was an ever-growing pool of blood around her form, staining her clothes and Naraku’s cloak. A huge hole in her chest quickly became the reason for said massive hemorrhaging and Kagome and Sesshoumaru wasted no time in gently pulling an almost catatonic Naraku away from the wolf demoness’ body so that Kagome could attempt to heal her. 

Neither of them was quite sure why Naraku was behaving this way but they knew that this wolf was important to him. For the time being, that’s all that mattered. 

Pulling the blue glow around her hands, she willed it into the dying young woman she had always thought of as too rambunctious. She didn’t notice when Sesshoumaru began speaking to Naraku in an attempt to get the hanyou to pull himself back together again, she didn’t feel his tears through their bond as they made their way down his face, didn’t feel Sesshoumaru’s shock and sadness when he recognized the depth of emotion within the dark-haired male they had come to think of as a brother. When the glow faded from her hands and the red pool had stopped growing- was banished with an absent-minded incantation, she sat back on her heels and waited for a miracle or a tragedy to occur. Fervently, she prayed for Naraku’s sake that Ayame live. 

Without knowing how, she knew that Ayame was integral to his strength and happiness. 

So when Ayame opened her eyes and started coughing, she let him grab her and growl at anyone else who got close to the pair while she went and retrieved water. Sesshoumaru exchanged a nod with her as their guards shooed bystanders out of the inn and dealt with the innkeeper, gold pieces changing hands for a modicum of quiet before the incident was too old to be of much tracking use to the Inu no Taisho. Ayame’s hair drifted in sweat-stained, red tendrils to the floor as she clutched at their pack-mate, emerald-green eyes brimming with tears of gratitude and the residual effects of her near death. Her two wolf companions circled around them, yipping softly in relief, a black and white pair that had followed her around like ducklings. 

Kagome noticed that the Inn was quiet- too quiet and their men were fighting to keep too many people from gathering around outside the open doors. Someone pointed at her and she knew she had been recognized. Sesshoumaru as well. 

“Naraku, we must leave. We are attracting far too much attention. She will come with us and you will explain the situation later.” Sesshoumaru’s voice broke through their soft, murmured words to each other. They both glanced up, astonished to have forgotten their surroundings and circumstances. Ayame was the first to rise unsteadily to her feet- Kagome caught her elbow, explaining about the huge amount of blood loss and the subsequent residual effects it would have on her soothingly. Taking Loki’s invisibility cloak, she wrapped it around the confused female youkai and gestured for Naraku to hold onto her. Then all three joined Sesshoumaru as he took his energy form and zoomed off, with Loki and the unit hot on their heels. 

Their guards would take care of the forgetfulness spells that would erase their presence from the minds of everyone that had been gathered outside the Inn. Hopefully, they reached everyone before a spy could get word back to the Inu no Taisho. 

~*~ 

Rin ran towards them when they reappeared in the study, immediately grabbing onto Kagome’s and Sesshoumaru’s legs. She had been staying with Miroku all day but he wasn’t the same as her pack and she had missed them. Sesshoumaru leaned down and nuzzled her head, fingers running through the forearm-length curls, worry on her reaction to their absence shining from his eyes. The petite woman by his side cooed and picked the little golden-eyed girl up, informing Isabella that another kimono needed to be set out for Ayame- one of her own would do, and that it needed to match the household colors. Yes, Ayame was a new Lady of the House. 

With a smile for the beautiful but bedraggled wolf demoness, Kagome’s loyal handmaiden winked out of existence. 

Once they had all settled on their own personal cushions, Kagome and Rin sitting with Sesshoumaru on smooth black velvet and Naraku cuddling Ayame in his lap on the soft amber furs, both Kagome and Sesshoumaru pinned Naraku with looks that said talk now. The cheery lights from the root lanterns lit the shadowed bookshelves and cast shadows over their faces as they waited for their dark-haired hanyou brother to gather his thoughts, still clearly shaken. After some time, he chuckled huskily, his relief finally getting the better of him as he laid his cheek upon Ayame’s hair. 

“Ayame is my intended.” He paused as Ayame coughed, handing her a handkerchief and then a cup of water as she cleared her lungs of the residual blood from the injury. Kagome gestured to Jaken for some tea as Naraku got into the rest of the story. “She has been mine since the moment she decided to stop pursuing that flea-bitten cur of a wolf- Kouga. We decided to remain separated at the time because of her espionage skills. She was aiding me in the matter of obtaining some rare rainbow diamonds- for the initial strike, and was supposed to meet up with me at the Griffin Inn before I introduced her to you three. The mage we were supposed to meet had gotten greedy and stolen the diamonds from her, tried to kill her in the process. I caught him in the act, he didn’t last and Kagome saved her for me.” He kissed her ear and grinned when she shivered in his hold, pulling a fur around the two of them. Kagome was pleased to note that they fit together- like pieces of a puzzle, his dark curls lending sunlight to her burgundy-colored waves, his bone structure firm and masculine while hers was delicate and stubborn. Both of their lips were turned up in unconscious smiles, unable to stop that manifestation of their happiness. Even as they watched, Ayame pulled his arms closer around her. “She gets cold easily, has amusing bed head, is intelligent and beautiful. I hope that you will accept her as you have grown to accept me… and I sincerely want to know what exactly Inuyasha was thinking when you made your wish because I would have never said anything so sappy in our former lives.” 

Regardless of the face he was making, their red-eyed hanyou once-nemesis was looking at them with his heart in his eyes. For a moment, he looked for all the world like the younger brother Kagome had left behind in the future. Which, for her and Sesshoumaru, he had somehow, unbelievably, unalterably become. 

Yes, it was so weird considering who they had once been; but, it wasn’t really considering who they were now. Kagome giggled when Ayame looked uncertain and worried no doubt thinking of her tempestuous past with the priestess. In response, Kagome took Rin’s hand and guided the little girl into a four way hug with the couple. Did he really have to ask? 

“Of course, Naraku.” Sesshoumaru’s voice was quiet as he watched. “Her power was known before the wish and she will be a great asset to the pack.” After a moment, a teasing glint entered his eyes. “You will be expected to share your time with her.” Naraku growled playfully when Sesshoumaru came and inhaled her scent, accepting the woman in his own way. “Are you kidding? She’s all mine!” 

Rin smiled at Ayame, easily trusting the woman her guardians obviously did and silently giggled when her stomach rumbled, holding up her hands to Sesshoumaru with a sweet entreaty in her eyes. Of course, he couldn’t say no. 

“Come on tummy-bear, let’s go get some good food, hmm?” Kagome tickled her as they rose, leaving Naraku and Ayame in the study. “Be in the dining room in a few minutes you two. Almost dying requires nutrition to recover.” 

Ayame giggled as the door closed behind the three unlikeliest of members of her new pack, incandescently joyful despite the fact that she hadn’t even said a word. In a true pack, she knew she wouldn’t need to. She leaned back, didn’t even have to time to draw breath before Naraku’s mouth had descended on hers. He kissed her like he had all the time in the world, turning her so that she was better able to wrap her soft arms around him. In response, she clutched at him, her strange, scary, devoted savior- hardly able to believe that her fairytale had come true, albeit not in the way that she had ever dreamed of. She still found it difficult to believe that at more than one point she had been the damsel in distress, and that he had been her knight in shining armor. Metaphorically of course, she thought giddily. Her intended would never wear anything shiny. 

“Kagome and Rin are going to require the entire story you know- complete with juicy details. They will ask you in the baths, that’s usually when Kagome does her interrogations.” Naraku’s eyes were only somewhat glazed over as he watched her smile at him happily, his breath catching at her beauty. “And you’re going to have to prove yourself worthy of me despite their surprisingly amicable acquiescence. They’re rather protective.” 

Ayame laughed, kissing his cheek. “They’re your pack. Of course they’re protective and if Kagome has remained true to herself, she will accept me simply because I make you smile.” 

In reply, he kissed the back of her ear knowing how sensitive she was there. “That’s not all you do to me, my pretty little wolf. Come, you need to recover fully for what I have planned for you.” 

He escorted her down the hallway, explaining the rooms they passed on their way to the dining hall. 

~*~ 

Two nights later… 

They had fallen into bed as soon as they had finished their baths and grabbed a bite to eat, exhausted from the magical battle they had been forced to partake in from the seventh mage they had visited. The woman had been killed in the battle; they couldn’t afford to let her live after informing her of some of their plans. Considering the tales they’d been hearing of the Inu no Taisho’s interrogation techniques, they’d done her a huge favor even though the job had been uncomfortable for Kagome to witness. 

Gaston had struck the final blow. 

Thrusting those thoughts away, Kagome twisted until she was facing Sesshoumaru in her sleep, her fingers curling around the silken strands of their entwined locks of hair. His grip on her tightened and he slid his calf between her ankles, face burrowing deeper into the curve of her neck. Both of them were smiling, walking through the same set of memories, hand-in-hand, pleased beyond belief to understand the presence of the new member they had welcomed into their household as Naraku shared his history with Ayame. 

~*~ 

“Ginta! Go away! Your leader has already rejected me. I have no desire to know what more you can do to taint my honor.” The female’s voice gave him pause in his nocturnal wanderings, stopping him from returning to their seaside hideaway. It was soft and cultured, soothing enough to make him fantasize about falling asleep next to a woman with a voice like hers. 

“Ginta? I said leave.” This time her voice was more forceful. “What are you doing? Do not come any closer, swine! I’m warning you!” 

Her piercing shriek had galvanized him into action, the petite hands attempting to fight off the horny, weak wolf stirring something dark and primal deep inside of him. Her eyes- her stunning gaze reminiscent of spring grass twinkling with dew, had drawn him in and almost made him forget his opponent. The one that had been attempting to stab him between his shoulder blades. 

He had ripped the other youkai to shreds, vicious growls causing nearby woodland creatures to run and hide. 

Afterwards, when the ground had been soaked with blood and his hands dripped with the viscous liquid, she had stood there, shaking in fear and hurt and betrayal quite unsure what to do with herself. He had given her an unsure smile, knowing she had only heard of him in his prior role as the metaphorical black plague of Japan. Surprising him, she had fallen into his arms, weeping, babbling nonsense despite their past histories, clutching at his haori as she tried to get over the embarrassment and sorrow of her latest attempt to get to Kouga. 

The wolf had no idea of how much he had killed the young woman’s self-esteem. 

And he- he had taken her with him and comforted her, leaving her in a temporary, magical hideway- a small cave filled with green waterfalls, scented with minerals and moss, furnished with soft furs and loose, comfortable earth. He still smiled when he remembered her awe, the squeal of delight when she had playfully splashed him with the blue-green water and had been thrown in as retaliation. 

He had returned to the cave the next day, having just found out the truth of Kagome’s pet status and this time she had comforted him. 

That cave had been their bliss, their escape (here the memories blurred, apparently too private to share with his packmates; though they caught a few things here and there). Eventually, she had been forced to leave and seek out her grandfather once more. The old youkai had been disappointed in the Eastern prince but unsurprised, welcoming his grand-daughter back easily. After all, she had always been one of his favorites. 

Those weeks when she had reunited with her pack had been their longest separation, and both Sesshoumaru and Kagome could feel their longing, the constant wandering thoughts that had distracted them day and night. 

~*~ 

The next day… 

Sesshoumaru smirked at Naraku as they entered the bathing room. 

Naraku growled, splashing the other youkai with hot mineral water. “Yes. I am a big softie. You are too in case you’ve forgotten Rin and Kagome.” 

Sesshoumaru didn’t say anything, turned and retrieved his soap; but, his smirk did not disappear. 

“Shut up. You are overprotective and I want to make Ayame’s transition here easier on her. That’s the only reason you got to see.” 

Naraku glanced behind him as he felt the water ripple and found his leader bent over the side of the spring, shaking. 

Soft words that held the undertones of barely-constrained laughter reached his ears over the lapping of the spring waters. “Sweet-heart, you can howl at me any night you want. I’m your moon. Understand?” 

The dark-haired male was horrified to find that he was blushing and that Sesshoumaru had noticed. 

Despite himself, Sesshoumaru’s laughter rang free, doubling at Naraku’s next words. 

“You should have heard her. She didn’t just howl that night.” He grinned, pleased that the controlled inuyoukai was enjoying himself- even if it was at his expense. “If it wasn’t the sweetest thing I’d ever heard in my life, I’d be deaf right now.” 

~*~


	8. Chapter 8

_“There’s a moment when fear and dream must collide.” –Josh Groban_

VIII- 

One month later… 

Kagome’s eyes narrowed in fury when Loki jumped in front of her to take the spear that had been aimed at her. The faithful panther youkai crumpled at her feet, gasping, one hand preventing the spear head from doing any life-threatening damage to his heart; but, he bled from too many other wounds, the ambush having surprised him too suddenly for him to defend himself and his charge. He lay dying at her feet, soaking the ground darker in the fading light of dusk. 

_How dare they?_

Crouching into a cat stance, one arm held at an angle from her torso, the second drawing a circle in the air in front of her, she muttered black words, her rage infusing them with the sapphire glow of her power, causing more than one eye to turn towards her. 

Sesshoumaru snarled at the soldier on the cliff drawing back his arm, aiming his death-tipped arrow at the small indigo figure on the battlefield. The inuyoukai quickly flipped the dagger into his hand, grasping the blade with his fingers and threw it, watching in satisfaction as the soldier plummeted onto one of his fellow treasonous, cowardly comrades. Claws burning with his poison, Sesshoumaru returned to carving a path of destruction into the fools that were attempting to kill him. They were undisciplined, unmindful of their commander and making it far too easy for his own men to take them down. 

Hand signing to the lieutenant of his own personal guard unit, he grinned when the hebi-youkai sank into the ground and went after the commander frantically shouting at his men. The opposing tora youkai’s eyes widened at the cruel light in Sesshoumaru’s eyes, gaze flicking at the young woman standing behind the now calm inuyoukai lord. The other male’s face blanked into a mask as he thought, watching his men get slaughtered around him, the battlefield almost silent save for their gasping breaths, friend and foe alike trying to remain on their feet. To fall, meant to get trampled or taken advantage of. 

One of Kagome’s guards severed another man’s life with a well-executed butterfly cut, sword flashing with the swirls of her magic, almost shuddering at the amount of power crawling around his tiny mistress. He leapt backwards, thrusting upwards into the centaur’s belly and effectively prevented the blue-skinned halfling from trampling his masters, stopping in his tracks when he felt the gathering spell release. 

Men _screamed_ as the night-dark needles ripped into their flesh with wild abandon, unerringly going for the throats and exposed skins of the ambushers. Sesshoumaru’s lieutenant found that when he erupted from the earth behind the enemy commander, his job had already been finished for him. The man lay dead as a fish on market day, gaping at the sky in horrified awe. Sighing, Ashoka closed the man’s eyes before looking around at the abrupt carnage; a series of gasps of outrage and fear had him turning towards his Lord and Lady, sword up and ready to be thrown over his shoulder at any soldier trying to hurt them. 

He’d rather be defenseless than let them fall. Instead, he put his sword down in concern, gesturing for half of their men to search the surrounding area for any more of the enemy. 

His Lady swayed on her feet, almost collapsing. Loki caught her before she could hit the ground, half-falling himself before she was taken from him by an _angry_ Sesshoumaru-sama. The thunderous growls erupting from his Lord’s mouth had him wandering the battlefield, mercy-killing any fallen man too injured to rise again. The rest of his men followed his lead or sought out their injured. He’d rather let his Captain deal with an angry Lord Sesshoumaru- though he kept his ears sharp as they crowded around Lady Kagome, whispering over her unconscious body. 

He nodded approvingly as a perimeter was set up around the battlefield and two of his men started piling the bodies up in the middle of the stone road, cremating them with the dried brush from the surrounding forest. 

“Ashoka,” his Lord’s quiet voice had him running over, bowing and settling into the familiar feet-shoulder-width-apart, left-hand-holding-right-wrist, stance. “She has over-exerted herself in the battle. Enkidu,” he said, naming his Captain, “is gathering an adequate unit to escort us back home. The injured will be coming with us. You will be in charge here. Clean up. Leave no traces anywhere- even in the forest where the men have gone to get wood. When you return you are to rest before Enkidu puts you to work. The men who were here will not have to attend drills tomorrow morning and afternoon. I want a full report of the ambush on my desk by this evening. How many were killed?” 

“All of theirs. From what I have counted, about ten of ours.” 

Sesshoumaru nodded though inwardly he cringed. That was almost a full third of the contingent they had left with to get their second to last mage. Somehow, the other company- his _father’s_ company had stumbled upon them and instead of following them to their destination-as would have been wise, had decided to attack them. No doubt they had wanted to split the rather impressive bounty for his head. Or hers. 

Sighing imperceptibly, he glanced down at the woman in his arms, her deceptively-simple, four-layered kimono having been stained with the blood of their guards and enemies. They were dressed down from their station for their venture out into the Southern Lands- which brought to attention the fact that the Inu no Taisho’s men were in the South. Sesshoumaru’s mouth lifted slightly when he realized he had something to hold over the Southern Lord- if his father was scouting the lay out of the Southern Lands with conquest in mind, the Southern hawk- youkai Lord had much more to lose than a few of his soldiers. 

With the appropriate emphasis of leverage, he might gain a more reliable ally in the upcoming war. 

Turning his mind away from those matters for the time being, he lifted into the air when Enkidu informed him that all was ready for their departure, He made a half-turn three paces away from the pyre they had built for the enemy, using the energy from the fire to fuel his magic, coiling the thread of his power around both himself and his miko before disappearing from sight in a burst of turquoise flame. 

He reappeared in their study, barely having had the time to blink before Naraku and Ayame had burst through the carved wooden doors, quickly followed by Miroku and Mattimeo. 

“What happened? Why are you covered in blood? What happened to Kagome?!” Ayame’s last sentence came out as a shriek, galvanizing Miroku into action. He gestured towards the floor pillows, hands already weaving through the air as he wrote symbols and muttered incantations for healing above Kagome’s body. 

“She’s not injured, merely unconscious. She released a dark spell earlier, ending the ambush; however, it must have taken too much out of her and she collapsed not soon after. A rejuvenation spell should do the trick, Miroku-san.” Sesshoumaru turned when he was satisfied with the new symbols replacing the old ones over his pack-mate. He turned towards the silence, knowing through their bond that Naraku- though quiet, was absolutely livid that their miko had been harmed. 

Sesshoumaru didn’t even think she should have been fighting because of her status; but, he wasn’t going to try and keep her from protecting their men. She was a powerful mage and as a commander, he would have been a fool not to use her skills. 

She would also have hurt him if he had tried. After all, this was as much her fight as it was his. 

“How many did she take down with that spell?” The hebi-hanyou’s hand was grasped by his intended, a soft, purring sound coming from her as she tried to calm him down. It barely worked. The dark-haired males’ entire body remained tense, coiled, waiting to strike out. 

“The rest of the enemy still standing- a good twenty at least.” Sesshoumaru’s voice was soft, soothing. “Loki was dying at her feet and that male has become her favorite guard. I wouldn’t have stopped her.” 

“Where’s Loki now?” Ayame straightened, mind turning towards what would need to be done for the returning men. Normally, Kagome and Isabella had that aspect of the household under control- the miko’s training giving her more knowledge over how a healer’s wards should work; but, since Kagome was sleeping off her over-exertion, it was up to Ayame to assume those duties as the other adult Lady of Sesshoumaru’s household. “Were the injured men brought here with you?” 

“Enkidu sent them to the healer’s ward on the second floor.” Sesshoumaru turned when he scented Rin’s tears, eying the little girl in resignation. 

He _hated_ it when Rin cried; that had always meant that she hadn’t gotten over her years under Inuyasha’s and Kikyou’s ‘care’. The girl hadn’t cried for months. Crouching down, he opened his arms to her, purring and panicking all at once, hoping that the sight of a blood-stained Kagome wouldn’t bring back the little girl’s nightmares. “She will be fine, Rin. She is safe now.” 

Rin only cried harder, body shaking with the force of her sobs. He sighed once more, stroking her head. Usually it took both Kagome and himself to calm the tiny girl down when she got like this. 

“She will wake in a few hours Sesshoumaru-sama, perhaps Isabella can assist in giving Kagome-san a bath and getting her out of these clothes?” Miroku’s voice brought him out of his musings on his wards’ relationship with their miko. The monk was standing, wiping his hands off with a towel given to him by one of the servants. 

The silver-haired male blinked, having realized that Ayame had gone to the second floor and that Isabella was probably assisting her. “Have Isabella assume control of the healer’s ward for now. Bring Ayame here. She will bathe Kagome. It is her privilege as a member of this household. Rin will help.” 

Rin sniffled before fidgeting so that she was put down. She stood by him quietly, holding onto his hakama and waiting for Ayame, casting fearful glances at the now-sleeping Kagome. She seemed afraid to touch her other guardian. 

Assured somewhat that Rin would be fine once Kagome woke, Sesshoumaru turned his thoughts back to the revolution, altering his Southern strategy and grimacing at the mail left in a neat pile on his desk by Mattimeo. They had only been gone half a day! How on earth was that much information assembled in so little time? He paused once on the way to his desk, leaning down and burrowing his nose in Kagome’s wrist before returning to his work. 

He would bathe after his miko had been taken care of. “Check on her every hour, Miroku-san and report her status to me. Send her to me if she wakes and if I am still in the Underground City.” Naraku let out a half-smile at the nickname their Headquarters had been given by the people of their land. 

“Naraku? Go to your contacts in the South- I have need of information on the comings and goings of the Southern Lord and his family. Preferably of his youngest son- that’s the only boy he has with any brain. I will be sending him a letter in a few months time. Father should have somewhat prepared his army for invasion by then.” 

Grateful for the distraction, Naraku left quickly, three of his agents appearing behind him in wisps of cloud and shadow. His quiet instructions to them went ignored as Sesshoumaru sat down on the floor behind his desk, moving the pillows so that the residual scent of the battlefield didn’t get on the black silk. Opening the letter from Lord Rimoki of the Northern Provinces, his most loyal subject to date, he couldn’t stop the vicious growl that erupted from his chest, resonating through the now empty study. 

They did not need this right now. It was a trap and a dangerously accurate one if they walked into it. There was no way he could let his men attempt it without knowingly losing over half of them. 

Mattimeo would have to go, as would their shadow-youkai unit; they would have the only hope of surviving. No! No. He could not condemn an entire unit. He closed his eyes, willing away the scent of Rin’s tears, trying to hold his resolve, the strength he personified as the leader of a revolution, of _his_ lands. His men relied on him to keep them as safe as possible. He could _not_ send them into certain death despite how well trained they were. The scent of watery salt remained, taunting him with memories, large wounded eyes and nightmares comforted in the wee hours of the morning. 

It had been a clear reminder of the fate that awaited any traitor assisting Kagome or himself. It was a clear trap for anyone who showed the slightest horror or sympathy, a dare of sorts to himself and Naraku, a call to their miko. 

Shippou had been exhibited in a cage at Court three days ago. 

~*~


	9. Chapter 9

_Action expresses priorities. – Mahatma Gandhi_

IX- 

Sesshoumaru was avoiding her. 

Kagome twisted in her coverings, bare legs poking out of the crumpled emerald green sheets in a vain attempt to catch the breeze that blew artificially through her chambers. One convenient thing the curse of the jewel had gifted her with was a flawless body- she never had to worry about exercising or shaving. It had been such a hassle too, making sure the suds from the shaving cream didn’t taint the spring, disposing properly of the razor. 

The petite enchantress grimaced when she realized she was trying to distract herself from the confused emptiness of her heart, wondering belatedly why he wouldn’t come to her. She had seen the turmoil in his gaze every time they had sat down at the table, silence and Kagome’s chatter to Rin the only sounds in the large, decorated room. Ayame and Naraku were off on a mission overseas, attempting to obtain some resources they would need for the coming autumn rites. In the approximate three and a half years since he had been back, Toga had not done any of the rites and the land was already suffering. There were fewer crops this year and some farmers were beginning to despair of paying the taxes. 

If the rites were successful through Sesshoumaru then it would give him another, legitimate claim to the throne. More people would rally to his side once they realized whose power had come to their aid. 

Abruptly, she rose. A slight pause in her footsteps ensured that her white sleep robe hung properly, that her hair wasn’t curling in her face. The young woman slipped past her door quickly, using both hands to keep it from making a sound when it slid closed. A few steps down the darkened hallway and she stopped, clasping her hands in front of the engraved doors of her Lord. 

They opened before she could gather the wavering courage to knock, a clawed hand grasping her waist and pulling her into a hard, naked chest, arms snaking around to gather her close. Trembling, tears of relief pricking the corners of her eyes, Kagome pressed herself close, rubbing her nose against his skin, fingers tracing the muscles over his shoulders. She felt him take in a deep, shuddering breath, felt the open-mouthed kiss on the shell of her ear. In return, she kissed the smooth skin in front of her, right above his sternum. “Don’t do that again, Sesshoumaru.” 

Sesshoumaru leaned back from her, bangs falling into his eyes, his hair braided for sleep. His lean, calloused fingers tangled in the silken strands at the back of her neck, thumb tracing her jaw. She watched him, the sparrow watching the snake, her breath even and calm, waiting. The slow smile that spread across his mouth, made him glow, brought the tears out. She gave him her own smile when he lifted both hands and wiped away the clear trails sloping down her high cheekbones. 

He hadn’t meant to hurt her, this she knew. 

“Come,” he said softly, taking one of the hands still wrapped around him and leading her to the futon in his bedroom, past his large, beautifully-designed sitting room. She was amused to note that he had stolen one of Naraku’s and Ayame’s amber fur blankets for his own personal use. The fire was out and the breeze had been adjusted to be slightly cooler in accordance with his wishes. 

He gestured for her to get comfortable on the bed, blowing out the candles with a complicated twirl of his wrist and a whispered spell word. Sighing contentedly, Sesshoumaru curled up around her, citrine-colored sheets laid around their waists, leg thrown over hers, one hand running over her tummy while the other cradled both of their heads beneath the down-feather pillows. 

She broke the comfortable silence moments later, curious as to his reasons for the separation that had obviously been hurtful for both of them. “So?” 

“I will tell you tomorrow, my belle.” He grinned into her hair when he felt her blush at the nickname, aware that she had been given lessons in the language of the foreign tradesmen, just as he had as a child. 

“Who said I was yours?” The faint note of irritation went unnoticed in favor of the amused embarrassment of her tone. She didn’t mind belonging to him, would follow him to the end of time and beyond if he asked it of her. 

He leaned up and over her, his face inches from hers, gaze falling to her curved mouth. She looked absolutely delicious with her raven hair spread across his pillow, shadows dancing in her eyes from the light of the single remaining candle. “You did.” 

“Did I? When was that?” Those indigo eyes twinkled at him and he knew that his own were twinkling back, his problems falling away in the company of his little miko, her warmth comfortable even in the heat of summer. S

lowly so she understood his intention, Sesshoumaru let his lips drift over hers, letting her gasp escape into the darkened air before taking advantage and sweeping his tongue over her parted lips. She shifted closer, hands rising to cradle his throat, her hips aligning with his. He muffled his groan with her mouth and broke the kiss, grinning at her dazed expression once he’d regulated his breathing, ears twitching at the pleasurable sound of her accelerated pulse. After all, she would only tease him more if she knew how much she affected him. “Just now, ma belle.” 

Her wide blue eyes made him chuckle, the residual frustration at having to keep himself away from her melting in the wake of feeling her smiling mouth on his. He lay back down, kissing her neck and holding her tighter. “Sleep, belle. We have much to discuss on the morrow.” 

Instead of arguing with him like he expected, he felt her breaths deepen, joined her in unconscious bliss, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t been able to sleep properly the past two days without her scent near him. 

~*~ 

The horror in her expression had Loki, Mattimeo and Gaston stepping closer to his desk. Growling at them, a command to remain still, he took her in his arms in a breach of protocol, purring and hoping to stem off the tears he could sense were buried deep inside. She was shaking like a leaf, unable to speak in more than a weak whisper. “He- they… I can’t believe… He’s been there all this time? And he’s youkai. They probably did more to him than they did to Rin.” 

He winced at how hollow her voice sounded. “We’re going to get him back, belle. It will just take some time. The Inu no Taisho has been too quiet lately- it’s a trap.” 

She nodded against his shoulder, sensing his worry over her reaction, breathing deeply and controlling her trembling limbs out of pure strength of will. She could deal with this. After all they had thrown at her, she wasn’t going to let her world crumble at a little bit more cruelty. She trusted him, no matter how horrifically she knew the knowledge of her kit being in their grasp would weigh her down, she would follow his lead. “How long do we have to wait to get him back?” 

He took a deep breath, glancing at Miroku when he entered the study, Isabella hot on his heels. Obviously the irritating mage had sent for them. “A month.” 

She shuddered, turning her face into his collar bone. “Time is irrelevant when…” she trailed off, granting him a weak smile for the vicious snarls at their inability to defend her long ago. “Who are you sending, beloved?” 

Sesshoumaru’s eyes widened minutely at the endearment, demeanor unconsciously softening, gaze glimmering with an inner, pleased light for the woman he held. “The shadow unit, Mattimeo, Solaria,” he said, naming Kagome’s third mage-in-command, “and two of Naraku’s agents. You may go with them if you wish.” 

She kept her gaze down, willing away the traumatic emotions the knowledge of her kit’s existence induced in her heart. Her surprise over his acceptance of the desire to get her surrogate son back was disguised by her shock. “My presence may not be wise. I’ll decide later. Keep me informed.” 

He let her go. “Of course, belle. Are you prepared to lead your group’s training today?” 

Her reply was an exasperated glance up at him. “Yes. I am not a delicate little flower you have to constantly worry about, Sesshoumaru. I have thorns and tenacity. You don’t need to protect me all the time.” 

Cockily and momentarily ignoring their audience, he tilted her head up and gently covered her lips with his, heart rate picking up when he realized he was the only male she would ever allow to touch her, that he would ever allow to touch her. He reminded her with one simple, meaningful action that it was now his duty, his honor to protect her; he was also pleased to note that her eyes were very much unfocused when they parted. A smug smirk had her turning away to the doors with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t cause too much trouble, beloved.” 

“Belle?” He waited until she had turned back to him, both of them amused at the hardly-disguised, pleased shock on Loki’s and Isabella’s countenances at his actions. Isabella was practically floating with that smile on her face. “Take Rin with you. She needs to begin observing your role.” 

She gave him a quarter bow, hands in the sleeves of her cream kimono, the tan cranes floating down her left side matching the black cranes floating down his back. He frowned. He was going to have to commission more kimono for the two of them. A betrothed pair were supposed to match and he would have everyone, hated father and group of idiotic minions included, knowledgeable of their relationship status. 

Before they could do anything more, Rin came racing in, a jubilant smile on her face with Jaken hot on her heels. “Sesshoumaru-sama! Kagome-sama! Look! Flowers!” 

She held her hands up between them, a huge bouquet of lilies, jasmine and honeysuckle scenting the study instantly. Sesshoumaru almost sneezed and asked her to put them in her room when he realized the magnitude of her words. Or rather, her voice. She had spoken. Rin had spoken. 

Kagome gave him the loveliest smile he had ever seen, kneeling down and gathering their little ward in her arms. “They’re beautiful, Rin-chan. Can you tell me what they are?” 

Rin looked confused. “Flowers are flowers, Kagome-sama.” 

Kagome laughed, Shippou half-forgotten with the new development. Sesshoumaru crouched down next to the pair of them. “There are different types of flowers, Rin. Kagome-sama will tell you what they are later. For now you must go with her and learn what she teaches you.” 

The golden-eyed girl beamed up at him. “Okay, Sesshoumaru-sama. Jaken-san said that I would have to do that too.” She beckoned Sesshoumaru closer. “Jaken-san took me to the gardens downstairs everyday to see the flowers growing. He cut these for me. Can I get him a present in return? He doesn’t like flowers so I can’t give him anything from my garden.” 

He smiled, sharing a glance with Kagome. They would gift the toad for his unshakable loyalty somehow. “Yes, Rin. We will speak of it later.” 

His two females bowed to him, Rin lower than Kagome before leaving with their retinue of guards and companions. As soon as the door had shut behind them, he sneezed twice, three times, pretending not to see the smile on Jaken’s face. “You have my gratitude, Jaken.” 

The gami-youkai remained silent, shuffling papers about; but, Sesshoumaru could have sworn that if he could have, Jaken would have been blushing. 

~*~ 

Naraku slumped in the hard tavern chair, eyes quickly and expertly roving over the milling, quieter crowd in the tavern. It was early yet and the drinking fest wouldn’t come until the men had reached the point where they no more wished to stay in their miserable lots of life. He grinned when a small packet of letters was handed to him via slight of hand from the innkeeper. In return, he gazed pointedly at a pair of drunken soldiers banging and laughing at table across the small, smoky room. The barkeeper nodded his thanks and called for his bouncers. The soldiers were thrown out with no further adieu, having been identified as royal spies. 

Naraku flashed Ayame a grin as he listened to their retinue of complaints. For her part, Ayame sashayed away, green eyes winking flirtatiously at the men eyeing her like a piece of steak. It took all of Naraku’s willpower not to gut every stupid male looking at his betrothed. After all, she was only doing her job. Sighing, Naraku waited until she had turned away to put her tray down before slipping out of the bar and into the alley outside to discretely follow the not-so-drunklings back to a public arena. 

The town was silent save for the sounds of their booted feet, his own soles made and spelled so that he could move undetected by creatures with sensitive hearing. He leapt onto a roof top, crouching down when one of the uniforms glanced back on the empty street. 

“Looks like everyone’s meeting curfew,” one of them grunted. Naraku huffed silently. Oaf. Of course everyone was meeting curfew, their heavy-handed killing of two teenaged lovers earlier that week had terrified the entire town. 

The other guffawed. “They’d better be in their homes by curfew. You know what we’ve been ordered to do if we catch any more citizens out after sundown.” 

Quick as a wink, Naraku had flicked his wrist and ended the first one’s life, another flick causing a dart to embed itself in the second one’s neck. A swift look up and down the street ensured that no one had yet noticed anything amiss. He jumped down, landing on the balls of his feet lightly, pinning two slips of paper to the jackets of both men. A simple transportation spell left them in the town square and a separate note in the courtyard of the richest man around for a league. 

He smiled. The Inu no Taisho’s espionage unit leader was going to get in trouble for this one. Big time. 

People were going to get even more scared of talking after word of this had gotten out. Soldiers were everywhere and if spies had disguised themselves as soldiers, then there would be few places where free talk would be heard. Eventually, people would get tired of living like mute ghosts under the Inu no Taisho’s reign and then… Sesshoumaru would be there to show them a different, lighter path. 

Drawing his cloak around him as Ayame joined him, absently cleaning one of the blades she’d used on another pair of spies- the tavern girl and the barber, he gave her a soft kiss on her cheek before they whirled around and sped away. 

They left behind four slips of deliberately ink-stained paper, one word written on each: _Taisho_. ~*~ Author’s Notes: That last bit was kind of taken from a Tamora Pierce novel but it was AWESOME and I had to use it ‘cause it fit the story. Also, there was almost nothing adjusted in this chapter except some grammar, etc. *European tradesman (French)


End file.
